A simple self-regulating permeability and selectivity of poly (arylene ether ketone) with amino groups for gas separation membrane

Poly (arylene ether ketone) containing different content of the amino groups (Am-PAEK) polymer membranes were prepared by nucleophilic polycondensation used as gas separation membranes. Am-PAEK was synthesized successfully confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR). The glass transition temperature (T-g) of Am-PAEK membranes enhanced from 164.83 degrees C to 192.83 degrees C, and the XRD results showed that the crystallinity of the Am-PAEK membranes increased as the amino groups content increased. The tensile strength and young's modulus of the Am-PAEK-10% achieved 44.10 MPa and 2053 MPa, respectively. All of the Am-PAEK membranes exhibited excellent thermal performance. The gas separation capability testing showed that the Am-PAEK-10% membrane showed higher pure gas permeability [P(CO2) = 12.38] as well as ideal permselectivity [alpha(CO2/CH4) = 21.34], the separation performance was closest the Robeson upper bound. It was due to that acid-base and hydrogen bond interactions between the amino groups and carbon dioxide exit in the membranes. Thus, the strategy of precise regulated the content of amino groups of Am-PAEK showed a prospective approach for high performance gas separation membranes.