Interaction of gas molecules with crystalline polymer separation membranes: Atomic-scale modeling and first-principles calculations
Carbon dioxide (CO2)-induced plasticization can significantly decrease the gas separation performance of membranes in high-temperature or high pressure conditions, such as industrial methane (CH4) separations. In this paper, we investigated the crystalline phase of three polymers (polybenzimidazole (PBI), Bis(isobutylcarboxy)polybenzimidazole (PBI-Butyl), and KaptonTM) and interactions between gas molecules (CO2 and N2) and these polymers. A novel, molecular dynamics (MD) based, computational technique was employed to find unknown crystalline structures of these polymer materials. The interaction of CO2 and N2 gases with these crystals was studied by first-principles calculations and by classical MD simulations. The results showed that the packing structure and the interlayer coupling in polymer crystals determine the permeability and diffusivity of gas molecules. This methodology also allows prediction of plastic swelling in these materials caused by gas molecules absorbed in the polymer matrix.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1032883
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-11-21265; JMESDO; TRN: US201202%%453
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 384, Issue 1 - 2; ISSN 0376-7388
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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