Crosslinked Polyvinylnorbornene‐Based Membranes as a New Class of Solvent‐Resistant Nanofiltration Membranes

Abstract

Solvent resistant nanofiltration (SRNF) has received increasing attention since the turn of the century within energy‐ and waste‐efficient unit processes. This work explores the synthesis and characterization of crosslinked polynorbornenes for SRNF. A series of polyvinylnorbornene thin‐film composite membranes with increasing degree of crosslinking were prepared and tested for their SRNF performance in heptane, chloroform, and toluene. Sudan Black B (457\u2009g\u2009mol⁻¹) was used as the solute. Then, 99% retention was achieved in heptane, 86% in chloroform, and 75% in toluene. It was further shown that the permeance and retention can be fine‐tuned in these solvents by controlling the extent of crosslinking. This work thus introduces the crosslinking of polynorbornenes as a promising material route for SRNF. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1593–1600