Organic solvent nanofiltration membranes based on polymers of intrinsic microporosity

Abstract

High-performance polymer membranes have attracted attention as excellent candidates for the fabrication of separation materials owing to their high versatility and ease of processability. Membranes can be prepared from polymers through solvent evaporation, phase inversion, coating, or interfacial polymerization. Organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) processes require membranes with high solvent resistance, excellent thermal and chemical stability, and high separation performance. Polymer membranes have shown great potential in OSN for separating valuable pharmaceutical compounds, dyes, and other organic molecules within a molecular weight range of 100–2000 g mol−1 in organic solvents. Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) have been used to fabricate OSN membranes with outstanding thermal and chemical stability in addition to high intrinsic porosity. In this study, we discuss different design aspects that should be considered for achieving high performance in advanced PIM-based OSN membranes operating under harsh conditions.