We will discuss post-polymerization modification of pendent moieties on a commercially available cyclic olefin copolymer to enhance the permeability and selectivity of this material for gas separations. Pendent methyl esters of poly[[octahydro-5-(methoxycarbonyl)-5-methyl-4,7-methano-1H-indene-1,3-diyl]-1,2-ethanediyl] (trade name, “Arton,” CAS# 123322-60-1) were partially converted to the corresponding hydroxyl moieties by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride. This hydroxylated polymer was an effective platform for installing a variety of structurally related functionalities by reaction with mesylates or acid chlorides. A family of modified polymers were prepared in this manner and characterized to correlate structure and properties with gas separation performance. We will discuss the trends obtained from this study, with an emphasis on those structures showing exemplary performance for separation of CO2 from N2 and H2 gases.

Post-polymerization modification of an engineering polymer to optimize for use in gas separation membranes

251st National Meeting (2016)

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