Ultra-selective molecular-sieving gas separation membranes enabled by multi-covalent-crosslinking of microporous polymer blends

High-performance membranes exceeding the conventional permeability-selectivity upper bound are attractive for advanced gas separations. In the context microporous polymers have gained increasing attention owing to their exceptional permeability, which, however, demonstrate a moderate selectivity unfavorable for separating similarly sized gas mixtures. Here we report an approach to designing polymeric molecular sieve membranes via multi-covalent-crosslinking of blended bromomethyl polymer of intrinsic microporosity and Tröger’s base, enabling simultaneously high permeability and selectivity. Ultra-selective gas separation is achieved via adjusting reaction temperature, reaction time and the oxygen concentration with occurrences of polymer chain scission, rearrangement and thermal oxidative crosslinking reaction. Upon a thermal treatment at 300 °C for 5 h, membranes exhibit an O2/N2, CO2/CH4 and H2/CH4 selectivity as high as 11.1, 154.5 and 813.6, respectively, transcending the state-of-art upper bounds. The design strategy represents a generalizable approach to creating molecular-sieving polymer membranes with enormous potentials for high-performance separation processes.

Development of N-F fluorinating agents and their fluorinations: Historical perspective

This review deals with the historical development of all N-F fluorinating agents developed so far. The unique properties of fluorine make fluorinated organic compounds attractive in many research areas and therefore fluorinating agents are important. N-F agents have proven useful by virtue of their easy handling. This reagent class includes many types of N-F compounds: perfluoro-N-fluoropiperidine, N-fluoro-2-pyridone, N-fluoro-N-alkylarenesulfonamides, N-fluoropyridinium salts and derivatives, N-fluoroquinuclidium salts, N-fluoro-trifluoromethanesulfonimide, N-fluoro-sultams, N-fluoro-benzothiazole dioxides, N-fluoro-lactams, N-fluoro-o-benzenedisulfonimide, N-fluoro-benzenesulfonimide, 1-alkyl-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane salts, N-fluoropyridinium-2-sulfonate derivatives, 1-fluoro-4-hydroxy-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane salts, N-fluorodinitroimidazole, N-fluoro-trichloro-1,3,5-triazinium salt, N-F ethano-Tröger’s base derivatives, N-fluoro-methanesulfonimide, N-fluoro-N-arylarenesulfonamides, bisN-F salts such as N,N’-difluorobipyridinium salts and N,N’-difluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane salts, and their many derivatives and analogs, including chiral N-F reagents such as optically active N-fluoro-sultam derivatives, N-fluoro-alkaloid derivatives, DABCO-based N-F derivatives, and N-F binaphthyldisulfonimides. The synthesis and reactions of these reagents are described chronologically and the review also discusses the relative fluorination power of each reagent and their mechanisms chronicling developments from a historical perspective.