PERMEATION AND SORPTION FOR OXYGEN AND NITROGEN INTO POLYIMIDE MEMBRANES

The permeation rate curves and sorption rate curves of oxygen and nitrogen below 1.3 atm were measured for seven polyimides of which chemical structures were systematically changed. These rate curves were applied Fickian model curves. The Fick's law was found to hold from the pressure independencies of diffusion coefficients for both the experiments. The solubility was better described according to dual-mode sorption model rather than Henry's law from the sorption experiments. The diffusivities of both the gases were correlated with packing density (reciprocal of specific free volume) of the polymer, except two polyimides. The packing density of these two polymers could not be successfully calculated from Bondi's method. However, all the diffusion coefficients decreased linearly with an increase in the cohesive energy density (CED), which was calculated by the group contribution method of van Krevelen. These results suggest that the gas diffusions in polyimides better correlate with CED than with the packing density. Therefore, the cohesive energy density may be considered as a more reliable indication of the efficient gas separation. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.