Polymer nanocomposites have been shown to exhibit enhanced gas separation properties compared to their “free” counterparts. In particular, we used polymer-grafted nanoparticles to create a new class of membranes where all the matrix chains were chemically attached by one end to a nanoparticle. Gas transport properties of commercially available polymers such as poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) can be improved significantly by simply grafting the polymer to nanoparticles (NPs) and adjusting the molecular variables such as chain length and graft density. Polyaniline (doped) shows very high selectivity for CO<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub> separations but is difficult to graft to NPs with any control over graft density and chain length.  We wish to test the hypothesis that creating a polyaniline-like environment near the nanoparticle surface may lead to similar gas separation properties. To create this environment, we designed a synthesis for oligoaniline containing side-chain polymers that can be controllably grafted to nanoparticles. In addition, we incorporated the aniline-like polymers into a bimodal grafted nanoparticle structure to enhance the film forming properties of the grafted NPs.  The synthesis and characterization of these materials will be discussed.

Novel gas separation membranes using polymer grafted nanoparticles

ACS Spring 2022

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