GAS-TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS BASED ON SPIROBIINDANE BISPHENOL

Transport properties of pure gases in polycarbonates, polyesters, and polyetherimides based on 6,6'-dihydroxy-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-1,1'-spiro biindane (SBI) and bisphenol-A (BPA) are compared at 35 degrees C. The SBI monomer contains two spiro-linked five-membered rings which are fused to the phenyl rings at the meta and para positions to the hydroxyl groups. This molecular structure gives SBI-based polymers with higher fractional free volume (FFV) and lower intramolecular motions as compared to the BPA-based analogs. The inhibition of chain packing due to the SBI moiety yields polymers with much higher permeabilities for all the gases studied, despite the hinderance of mobility associated with the SBI structure. Simultaneous increase in selectivity was also observed for some gas pairs. Oxygen permeabilities up to 5.9-fold higher with increases of up to 13% in O-2/N-2 selectivities were observed for a polyester based on SBI as compared to its analog based on BPA. Higher permeabilities of up to 4.3-fold for He and up to 4.8-fold for CO2 were observed due to the substitution of SBI for BPA. Not surprisingly, lower values of He/CH4 and CO2/CH4 selectivities were obtained for the more open SBI-containing polymers. The changes in fractional free volume and inhibition of small-scale mobility for some materials caused by the SBI moiety were measured and used in the interpretation of the gas transport properties. The individual contributions of diffusivity and solubility to the overall transport behavior of the polymers are discussed and correlated to the structural alterations caused by the SBI substitution for BPA monomer. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.