Selective polydimethylsiloxane/polyimide blended IPN pervaporation membrane for methanol/toluene azeotrope separation

▶ Novel simultaneous IPN of PDMS and polyimide based membranes were prepared. ▶ Uniform distribution of polyimide nanodomains in PDMS matrix was confirmed by SEM/TEM. ▶ IPN's exhibited synergistic improvement in the thermal stability. ▶ Polyimide content in PDMS membrane slows down water diffusion and MVTR. ▶ IPN membranes tested, showed better selectivity towards separation of toluene/methanol.