Synthesis and Crosslinking of Polyether-Based Main Chain Benzoxazine Polymers and Their Gas Separation Performance

Abstract

The poly(ethylene glycol)-based benzoxazine polymers were synthesized via a polycondensation reaction between Bisphenol-A, paraformaldehyde, and poly(ether diamine)/(Jeffamine ^®). The structures of the polymers were confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( ¹H-NMR), indicating the presence of a cyclic benzoxazine ring. The polymer solutions were casted on the glass plate and cross-linked via thermal treatment to produce tough and flexible films without using any external additives. Thermal properties and the crosslinking behaviour of these polymers were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Single gas (H ₂, O ₂, N ₂, CO ₂, and CH ₄) transport properties of the crosslinked polymeric membranes were measured by the time-lag method. The crosslinked PEG-based polybenzoxazine membranes show improved selectivities for CO ₂/N ₂ and CO ₂/CH ₄ gas pairs. The good separation selectivities of these PEG-based polybenzoxazine materials suggest their utility as efficient thin film composite membranes for gas and liquid membrane separation technology.