NAMS 2002 Workshop - ICOM 2008

Polymeric Membranes I – 6
Monday July 14, 12:15 PM-12:45 PM, Moloka’i
Effect of Network Structure Modifications of Cross-linked Poly(ethylene
oxide) Membranes on Gas Separation Properties
V. Kusuma (Speaker), University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, kusuma@che.utexas.edu
B. Freeman, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
M. Danquah, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
M. Borns, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
A. Comer, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
D. Kalika, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
Cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) (XLPEO) was recently identified as a promising
material to remove polar and acid gases, such as CO2, from mixtures with light
gases [1] . Prepared by cross-linking low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol)
diacrylate with other poly(ethylene oxide) acrylates, XLPEO exhibits good
separations properties thanks to the ethylene oxide group interaction with CO2
and elimination of crystallinity due to the presence of cross-links.
This talk will discuss recent efforts aimed at exploring other cross-linkable
poly(ethylene oxide) containing acrylates to improve separations performance of
XLPEO. In particular, we will explore the effects of copolymerizing poly(ethylene
glycol) diacrylate with monoacrylates with a variety of functional groups. This
modification results in substantial changes in polymer free volume and chain
mobility, which, in turn, affects the transport properties of the materials. Dynamic
mechanical analysis results will be presented along with transport properties
measurement results to correlate the changes in network structure with the
changes in transport properties.
[1] H. Lin, T. Kai, B. D. Freeman, S. Kalakkunnath, D. S. Kalika, The Effect of Crosslinking on
Gas Permeability in Crosslinked Poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate), Macromolecules 2005, 38,
8381-8393.