Development and characterization of PPO composite membranes for gas separation

Poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) composite membranes have been prepared on a polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration support, which was previously coated with highly permeable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The PDMS gutter layer was used in order to: plug the pores of the support; minimise the thickness of the separating PPO deposit; and reduce the tortuosity of the path of the gas molecules to the pores of the support. Composite membranes with high fluxes and good selectivities for gas separations have been obtained with an amorphous and cross-linkable phenylene oxide co-polymer.