Thin film composite membranes from polymers of intrinsic microporosity using layer-by-layer method

Abstract There is a clear need for developing novel membrane chemistries to address industrial separation needs and improve the energy efficiency. Polymers with intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are a novel class of polymers for which the porosity originates from the unique chemical structure of the rigid polymer backbone. A significant amount of work has been done to demonstrate the excellent performance of PIMs for gas separation applications. However, the utility of PIMs for liquid separations has not been fully explored yet. Herein, we report thin film composite (TFC) membranes from charged Troger's base PIMs polymers fabricated using layer–by-layer method and demonstrate their utility for the nanofiltration application with a water permeability of 5.6 l/m 2 h bar (LMH/bar) and rejection profile of a nanofiltration membrane.