Abstract
The development of high performance materials for CO2 separation and capture will significantly contribute to a solution for climate change. In this work, (bicycloheptenyl) ethyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMSPNB) membranes with varied cross-link densities were synthesized via ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The developed polymer membranes show higher permeability and better selectivity than those of conventional cross-linked PDMS membrane. The achieved performance (CO2 permeability~ 6800 barrer and CO2/N2 selectivity~ 14) is very promising for practical applications. The key to achieving this high performance is the use of an in-situ cross-linking method of the difunctional PDMS macromonomers, which provides lightly cross-linked membranes. By combining positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, broadband dielectric spectroscopy and gas solubility measurements, we have elucidated the key parameters necessary for achieving their excellent performance.
