Key words: polymer membranes, gas separation, 1,2-disubstituted polyacetylenes, polymer chemical modification, СО2 separation, permeability, selectivity, quaternization
This work is devoted to the investigation of supercritical fluid media applicability for the modification of a promising gas-separating polymer in order to improve CO2-selectivity. The possibility to introduce a quaternary ammonium salt functional group into poly(4-methyl-2-pentyne) structure via two-stage process was demonstrated: bromination with N-bromosuccinimide and its subsequent addition to a tertiary amine (quaternization) in supercritical fluid media. Using trifluoromethane as a reaction media leads to the highest polymer modification degree. The best achieved result gave a three-fold increase in CO2/N2 selectivity in comparison with initial poly(4-methyl-2-pentyne).