Operating temperature effects on the plasticization of polyimide gas separation membranes

Membrane plasticization is the process whereby penetrant dissolution causes membrane swelling or dilation, which in turn, can increase membrane diffusivity and solubility and lead to long time frame polymer relaxation processes. In this work, the effect of temperature upon the plasticization of a rigid polyimide, poly(4,4′-hexafluoroisopropylidene diphthalic anhydride–2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-phenylenediamine) (6FDA-TMPDA), by carbon dioxide is investigated. It is found that across the full range of temperatures studied, plasticization has little effect on carbon dioxide solubility as all results can be characterized by a standard dual mode sorption model. However, the effect upon diffusivity is significant and this can be described by both an exponential relationship with penetrant concentration and an Arrhenius relationship with temperature. The polymer relaxation processes induced by plasticization are also temperature dependent. However, the total proportion of penetrant sorption associated with such relaxation processes is relatively unaffected by temperature. This paper shows that plasticization effects are dominated by Henry's law dissolution. Conversely, while Henry's law species contribute most to diffusion at high temperatures, at lower temperatures the movement of Langmuir component species also contributes to the total diffusion coefficient.