Synthesis of a novel freestanding conjugated triazine-based microporous membrane through superacid-catalyzed polymerization for superior CO2 separation

This study aims at developing a novel freestanding conjugated triazine-based membrane (ETM-1) with permanent porosity via a low-temperature superacid-promoted polymerization reaction. In this venue, we used the bifunctional 4-ethynylbenzonitrile (4-EBN) monomer featuring ethynyl (CCH) and nitrile (CN) functionalities. At the same time, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (CF3SO3H) served as both the catalyst and solvent. The cross-linked Polymer's physicochemical properties were systematically examined using TGA, BET, solid-state 13C CP-MAS NMR, ATR-FT-IR, and XPS spectroscopy techniques. With conjugated s-triazine (as a result of cyclotrimerization of nitrile) and CCH (as a result of cationic polymerization of ethynyl), the microporous ETM-1 membrane displayed a superior CO2 uptake capacity of up to 3.87 mmol g−1 (170.3 mg g−1) and enhanced ideal CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 permselectivity values of 47 ± 2 and 21 ± 1 at 298 K and 1 bar, respectively. The notable selectivity of ETM-1 towards CO2 can be stated in terms of the molecular sieving (i.e., kinetic selection) characteristic of the microporous membrane, its electron-rich π-conjugated skeleton, and enhanced basicity, suitable for interacting with CO2 via dipole-quadrupole and acid-base interactions. Moreover, ETM-1 exhibited the isosteric heat of CO2 adsorption ranging from 28.1 to 34.3 kJ mol−1, implying strong physisorption of CO2 upon the high-affinity adsorption sites of the membrane.