A range of polyimides with characteristics similar to a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) were prepared by reaction with various aromatic diamines of a bis(carboxylic anhydride) incorporating a spiro-center. The polymers exhibited high surface area, as determined by nitrogen adsorption, and high thermal stability. Membrane gas permeation experiments showed PIM-polyimides to be among the most permeable of all polyimides and to have selectivities close to the upper bound for several important gas pairs. A group contribution method was used to predict permeability coefficients and separation factors for further PIM-polyimide structures, revealing worthwhile targets for future synthetic efforts.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.