Poly(dimethylsiloxane) networks modified with poly(phenylsilsesquioxane)s: Synthesis, structural characterisation and evaluation of the thermal stability and gas permeability

Self-supported translucent films constituted of semi-inorganic polymeric materials were prepared by sol–gel process from poly(phenylsilsesquioxane) (PPSQ) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), modified by diphenylsilanediol (DPS), phenyltriethoxysilane (PTES) and/or tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). These materials were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Permeability to N2, O2, CH4 and CO2 and selectivity for a specific gas pair were investigated using the time-lag method. In the gas separation process high permeability and selectivity coefficients were observed, particularly for the membrane containing DPS and PTES as additives, which presented potential applications in the separation of CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2. The materials also showed good thermal stability, which could be correlated to the relative amounts between di-functional (D), tri-functional (T) and tetra-functional (Q) silicon units.