Synthesis and characterization of new nanocomposites-based polyimide/modified montmorillonite and their applications in gas separation

This study reports synthesis of nanocomposite materials-based polyimide (PI) matrix and reactive modified montmorillonite (m-MMT) as a reinforcing agent. New diamine and PI derived from amino acid (L-phenylalanine) fractions in the structure as pendant group were synthesized. The best dispersion of m-MMT was observed for PI/m-MMT 3% nanocomposites, which resulted in the best mechanical performance with an increase of 56% in tensile modulus and 14% in yield strength, respectively compared to that of pure PI. The maximum ideal selectivity achieved was 15.89 with 3% loading at 4 bar pressure which is 42.52% higher than neat PI membrane.