Hyperaging Tuning of a Carbon Molecular‐Sieve Hollow Fiber Membrane with Extraordinary Gas‐Separation Performance and Stability

Abstract

Abstract This study reports 6FDA:BPDA‐DAM polyimide‐derived hollow fiber carbon molecular‐sieve (CMS) membranes for hydrogen and ethylene separation. Since H 2 /C 2 H 4 selectivity is the lowest among H 2 /(C 1 ‐C 3 ) hydrocarbons, an optimized CMS fiber for this gas pair is useful for removing hydrogen from all‐cracked gas mixtures. A process we term hyperaging provides highly selective CMS fiber membranes by tuning CMS ultramicropores to favor H 2 over larger molecules to give a H 2 /C 2 H 4 selectivity of over 250. Hyperaging conditions and a hyperaging mechanism are discussed in terms of an expedited physical aging process, which is largely controlled by the hyperaging temperature. For the specific CMS material considered here, a hyperaging temperature beyond 90 °C but less than 250 °C works best. Hyperaging also stabilizes CMS materials against physical aging and stabilizes the performance of H 2 separation over extended periods. This work opens a door in the development of CMS materials for the separation of small molecules from large molecules.