Poly(ionic liquid)–ionic liquid membranes with fluorosulfonyl derived anions: characterization and biohydrogen separation

Unformatted postprintClean and sustainable energy production has become a key global issue concerning the world’s energy shortage and environmental problematic. Despite the recognized potential of biohydrogen (bioH2) for sustainable development, there are still issues regarding its production and purification, such as the elimination of CO2, N2, and other impurities (H2O and H2S), so that an enriched H2 stream can be obtained for efficient energy generation. The use of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) and their derived composite materials incorporating ionic liquids (PIL–IL) has been considered as a highly promising strategy to design membranes with improved CO2 separation. In this study, membranes of pyrrolidinium-based PILs containing symmetric or asymmetric fluorosulfonyl derived anions, namely bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide ([FSI]–), (trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl-N-cyanoamide ([TFSAM]–) and (trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl-N-trifluoroacetamide ([TSAC]–), were prepared by the incorporation of different amounts of structurally similar ILs. The PIL–IL membranes were characterized by different techniques (TGA, DSC, FT-IR and Raman) and their CO2/H2 and H2/N2 separation performances were investigated. Higher CO2/H2 selectivities were obtained for PIL FSI–40 [C2mim][FSI] (αCO2/H2 = 9.0) and PIL TFSAM–40 [C2mim][TFSAM] (αCO2/H2 = 7.1) compared to those of PIL–IL membranes containing the conventional [TFSI]– anion at similar or even higher amounts of IL’s incorporation.Andreia S. L. Gouveia is grateful to FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) for her Doctoral (SFRH/BD/116600/2016) research grant. Liliana C. Tomé has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 745734. This work was supported by FCT through the project PTDC/CTM-POL/2676/2014. Centro de Química Estrutural acknowledges the financial support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (UIDB/00100/2020). Elemental analysis and Raman spectroscopy were performed with the financial support from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation using the equipment of Center for molecular composition studies of INEOS RAS