Free Volume Investigation of Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs): PIM-1 and PIM1 Copolymers Incorporating Ethanoanthracene Units

Abstract

High free volume, film-forming copolymers were prepared in which a proportion of the spiro-units of PIM-1 were replaced with units derived from 9,10-dimethyl-9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-2,3,6,7-tetrol (CO1). A full investigation of free volume, utilizing N2 sorption, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), Xe sorption and 129Xe NMR spectroscopy, was undertaken for copolymer PIM1-CO1-40 (spiro-units:CO1 = 60:40) and a comparison is made with PIM-1. All techniques indicate that the copolymer, like PIM-1, possesses free volume holes or pores on the nanometre length scale (i.e., microporosity as defined by IUPAC). For the batch of PIM-1 studied here, the sample as received showed anomalous N2 sorption, Xe sorption and 129Xe NMR behavior that could be interpreted in terms of reduced porosity in the size range 0.6−0.7 nm, as compared to the copolymer. The anomalous behavior was eliminated on conditioning or relaxation of the polymer, e.g., by Xe sorption at 100 °C and 3 bar. PALS for both PIM1-CO1-40 and PIM-1 indicates a maximum in the average free volume hole size, and in the width of the distribution of hole sizes, on increasing temperature. This maximum appears to be a feature of high free volume polymers and may be related to the onset of localized oscillations of backbone moieties.