Molecularly Engineered 6FDA-Based Polyimide Membranes for Sour Natural Gas Separation

Glassy polyimide membranes are attractive for industrial applications in sour natural gas purification. Unfortunately, the lack of fundamental understanding of relationships between polyimide chemical structures and their gas transport properties in the presence of H₂S constrains the design and engineering of advanced membranes for such challenging applications. Herein, 6FDA-based polyimide membranes with engineered structures were synthesized to tune their CO₂/CH₄ and H₂S/CH₄ separation performances and plasticization properties. Under ternary mixed sour gas feeds, controlling polymer chain packing and plasticization tendency of such polyimide membranes via tuning the chemical structures were found to offer better combined H₂S and CO₂ removal efficiency compared to conventional polymers. Fundamental insights into structure–property relationships of 6FDA-based polyimide membranes observed in this study offer guidance for next generation membranes for sour natural gas separation.     

Thermal cross-link between 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid-based polyimides and bismaleimide via Diels–Alder reaction

A series of cross-linked polyimides (PIs) were prepared via two-step solution polycondensation from 2,2-bis[4-(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)phenyl]propane dianhydride (BPADA) and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid-based diamines, N,N′-bis(4-amino-2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)furan-2,5-dicarboxamide (TFFDA) and N,N′-bis(4-aminophenyl)furan-2,5-dicarboxamide (p-FDDA), followed by thermal crosslinking reaction with bismaleimide. The thermal crosslinking reaction and its mechanism were studied by FTIR spectra and model reaction analysis, which showed Diels–Alder reaction between furan group and maleimide group played a main role in the thermal treatment. The properties of cross-linked PIs were characterized using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analyses, tensile testing, ultraviolet-visible spectra, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. The cross-linked polyimide film showed improved solvent-resistance, thermal and mechanical properties with T_g values of 234–306^oC, tensile strengths of 82–98 MPa and moduli of 2.3–3.0 GPa.     

Homopolyimides containing both benzimidazole and benzoxazole with high Tg and low coefficient of thermal expansion

A pair of isomer diamines containing both benzimidazole and benzoxazole and derived homopolyimides were synthesized for the first time. Due to rich rigid and linear benzoazole units, as well as the strong intermolecular interactions from the hydrogen bonding and the charge transfer complexation (CTC), the obtained polyimides (PIs) exhibited outstanding thermal properties, including high thermal weight loss temperature (T_d5% = 540–561°C), high glass transition temperature (T_g = 392–421°C), and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE = 1.3–20.9 ppm/°C). In addition, the obtained PIs also showed ideal mechanical properties (T_S = 189–240 MPa, T_M = 4.1–5.0 GPa and E_B = 2.9%–4.7%). These potential novel PI films with high T_g and low CTE were expected to be applied to next generation of flexible display substrate material.     

Addition of SiO2 to the operation of a polyimide cathode in a sodium battery

The effect of the addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles on the properties of a polyimide cathode was explored by CV, XPS, and galvanostatic cycling methods. The capacity and average cycling potential of the cell increased in the presence of SiO₂. By quantum chemical modeling, it was shown that SiO₂ nanoparticles served as a framework for polyimide, which retained its fixed structure upon metalation with sodium.     

Novel sulfonated polyimide/ZrO2 composite membrane as a separator of vanadium redox flow battery

Sulfonated polyimide (SPI) and ZrO₂ are blended to prepare a series of novel SPI/ZrO₂ composite membranes for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) application. Results of atomic force microscopy and X‐ray diffraction reveal that ZrO₂ is successfully composited with SPI. All SPI/ZrO₂ membranes possess high proton conductivity (2.96–3.72 × 10^?2 S cm^?1) and low VO²⁺ permeability (2.18–4.04 × 10^?7 cm² min^?1). SPI/ZrO₂‐15% membrane is determined as the optimum one on account of its higher proton selectivity and improved chemical stability. The VRFB with SPI/ZrO₂‐15% membrane presents higher coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency than that with Nafion 117 membrane at the current density, which ranged from 20 to 80 mA cm^?2. Cycling tests indicate that the SPI/ZrO₂‐15% membrane has good operation stability in the VRFB system. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel polyimides obtained from a new aromatic diamine (BAPO) containing pyridine and 1,3,4‐oxadiazole moieties for removal of Co(II) and Ni(II) ions

Novel, thermally stable polyimides (PIs) containing a 1,3,4‐oxadiazole and pyridine moieties based on a new aromatic diamine 2,5‐bis‐(aminopyridine‐2‐yl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole, BAPO, were synthesized. The prepared polymers were soluble in dimethysulfoxide (DMSO) and concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature as well as in polar and aprotic solvents, such as, N‐methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc) at elevated temperature. Thermal behaviors of the PIs were studied by thermogravimetric analysis/dynamic thermal analysis (TGA‐DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The inherent viscosities of the PI solutions were in the range of 0.38–0.61 dl/g (in DMSO with a concentration of 0.125 g/dl at 25 ± 0.5°C). The removal of Co(II) and Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions was performed using polymer 6, which was obtained from BAPO and 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA). The maximum adsorption capacity was observed for Co(II) ion at pH = 7.0 (110.4 mg g^?1, 1.87 mmol g^?1). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

聚酰亚胺复合材料的摩擦性能及其机理研究

研究了含有固体润滑剂的炭纤维增强 PI复合材料在干摩擦和水润滑 2种状态下的摩擦磨损性能及其磨损机理 .结果表明 ,在水润滑条件下 ,摩擦系数和磨损率都有不同程度的降低 ,其中含 PTFE的炭纤维增强 PI复合材料的耐磨性最佳 ,最低磨损率为 9.9× 10 - 7mm3/ N· m.其主要原因可能与材料存在极性酰胺基团有关 ,酰胺基易通过氢键与水分子结合 ,在摩擦表面形成水吸附膜 ,使摩擦表面直接接触减少 ,从而改善材料的摩擦磨损性能     

聚酰亚胺/钽铌酸钾纳米颗粒复合材料结构与机械性能分子动力学模拟

利用多尺度建模方法构建了聚酰亚胺/钽铌酸钾纳米颗粒复合物模型, 通过分子动力学模拟研究了不同尺寸钽铌酸钾纳米颗粒(5.5, 8.0, 9.4, 10.5, 11.5 Å)对复合材料的结构、弹性模量和相互作用能的影响规律, 并通过计算纳米颗粒表面原子键能和单位表面积原子数目探究了复合物机械性能提高的内部机理. 聚酰亚胺和聚酰亚胺/钽铌酸钾复合材料的杨氏模量分别为2.91和3.17 GPa, 泊松比分别为0.37和0.35, 钽铌酸钾纳米颗粒的引入可以显著改善聚酰亚胺的机械性能. 纳米颗粒表面原子的键能为8.62-54.37 kJ·mol^-1, 表明颗粒与基体主要通过范德华力作用结合且有氢键存在. 计算结果表明, 相同掺杂比例下, 纳米颗粒尺寸越小, 纳米颗粒表面原子数目越大, 颗粒与基体作用更强, 杨氏模量的提高幅度越大, 尺寸效应越显著. 因此, 掺杂小尺寸纳米颗粒是提高聚酰亚胺机械性能的有效途径.     

二硫化钼改性热塑性聚酰亚胺复合材料的摩擦磨损性能研究

采用热压成型工艺制备MoS2 填充热塑性聚酰亚胺复合材料,测定了其弯曲强度和压缩强度,采用MPX-2000型摩擦磨损试验机评价MoS2 填充热塑性聚酰亚胺复合材料在干摩擦和水润滑2种工况下的摩擦磨损性能,利用扫描电子显微镜观察和分析材料磨损表面形貌和元素分布.结果表明:与聚酰亚胺树脂相比,加入MoS2后复合材料的弯曲强度和压缩强度有所降低,随着MoS2含量增加,材料的弯曲强度和压缩强度趋于稳定;在干摩擦条件下,MoS2逐步在磨损表面富集,相应的摩擦系数有所降低;MoS2含量为10%时磨损表面仅出现局部熔融,磨损率最低,当MoS2含量为20%时磨损表面出现深度熔融,磨损率较大;在水润滑条件下,MoS2仍起到良好的润滑作用,摩损率较干摩擦条件下降低1个数量级,表现出疲劳磨损特征.     

Porphyrin‐containing Polyimide with Enhanced Light Absorption and Photocatalysis Activity

A series of porphyrin‐containing polyimide (PI) photocatalysts were synthesized by a one‐step solvothermal method. Characterization results revealed that porphyrin was uniformly coupled into the PI framework through covalent bonding and the visible‐light absorption was greatly improved. The photodegradation activity of porphyrin‐containing PIs for methyl orange (MO) under visible light was enhanced significantly, with the highest pseudo‐first‐order rate constant 35 times higher than that of neat porphyrin and 10 times higher than that of porphyrin‐free PI. The enhancement is mainly attributed to an increased light harvesting accompanied by a varied HOMO level, which was clarified by control experiments, characterizations and theoretical calculations. This work provides an insight into multiple effects of dye molecules in dye‐containing heterogeneous photocatalysts.