Synthesis and characterization of a microporous 6FDA-polyimide made from a novel carbocyclic pseudo Tröger's base diamine: Effect of bicyclic bridge on gas transport properties

A newly designed carbocyclic pseudo Tröger's base diamine (CTB) monomer, 2,8-dimethyl-3,9-diamino-5,6,11,12-tetrahydro-5,11-methanodibenzo[a,e][8]annulene (CTBDA) and its isomeric analogue 2,8-dimethyl-(1,7)(4,10)(3,9)-diamino-5,6,11,12-tetrahydro-5,11-methanodibenzo[a,e][8]annulene (iCTBDA), were designed for the synthesis of microporous 6FDA-based polyimides (6FDA-CTBDA and 6FDA-iCTBDA). Both polyimides were soluble, exhibited excellent thermal stability of ∼490 °C, and had high surface areas of 587 m² g⁻¹ (6FDA-CTBDA) and 562 m² g⁻¹ (6FDA-iCTBDA). A 6FDA-based polyimide derived from 4,10-dimethyl-3,9-diamino-6H,12H-5,11-methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]-diazocine (6FDA-TBDA) was made for comparison to investigate the effects of the basic tertiary nitrogen functionality in the Tröger's base diamine on the polymer properties relative to the carbocyclic 6FDA-CTBDA analogue. 6FDA-TBDA displayed lower gas permeabilities but moderately higher gas-pair permselectivities than 6FDA-CTBDA. The enhanced permselectivity of 6FDA-TBDA resulted exclusively from higher diffusion-based selectivity. Direct gas sorption measurements demonstrated that the basicity in the Tröger's base bridge moiety enhanced the sorption capacity of CO₂ only slightly and had no effect on the CO₂/CH₄ solubility selectivity in 6FDA-TBDA vs. 6FDA-CTBDA.