(755d) Defect-Free PIM-1-Based Hollow Fiber Membranes

Microporous polymers are one of the newest classes of materials investigated for membrane applications. Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) have rigid backbones that lead to high permeabilities and good selectivities along with solution processability. Current research on PIMs has been exclusively performed on flat sheet membranes to understand fundamental membrane properties. To bridge the gap between the development of new high performance polymers and industrially attractive technologies, more efficient membrane units such as hollow fibers are needed. To date, only dilute PIM-1 containing blends have been fabricated into fibers, which exhibit large surface area to volume ratios and are highly scalable. This work is the first to demonstrate the fabrication of defect-free, integrally skinned, asymmetric PIM-1 hollow fiber membranes utilizing an immiscible liquid protective layer. PIM-1-based fibers have been utilized to demonstrate various organic liquid molecular separations.