Synthesis and gas permeation of polynorbornene by dinuclear α–diimine Ni-based catalysts: Experimental and quantum chemistry modeling

In this work, polynorbornene (PNB) was synthesized via dual-core catalyst successfully and applied in the gas membrane applications. The microstructure and physical properties of resultant PNB were evaluated precisely. FESEM images showed that PNB membrane had a dense and porous microstructure. XRD results indicated that polynorbornene had two sharp peaks at 2θ nearly 10° and 20°. The results of DSC analysis exhibited that with the design of the new synthetic system, the T g reduced, though both molecular weight, and film-ability of polymer were improved significantly. A molecular weight of over 9 × 10 5 g/mol was obtained for PNB. The permeability values against CO 2 and CH 4 were 63.7 and 5.2 (Barrer), respectively, which were comparable with those of reported previously. Additionally, the obtained selectivity was 12.2. DFT-D simulation results showed that O 2 molecules have more tendencies to C 7 H 12 than that of other gas molecules and better capability to adsorb onto C 7 H 12 .