Novel microporous organo-clay materials and organo-clay polymeric composite membranes.

Abstract

A series of quaternarized ammonium mono and di-cations, quaternarized amino acid ester mono and di-cations, and quaternarized polyammonium cations were synthesized by methylation reaction. The synthesized quaternarized ammonium derivatives were incorporated into the interlamellar space of the smectites, montmorillonite (SWy-1) and hectorite (SHCa-1). The adsorption of these quaternarized ammonium cations by the smectites were studied by colorimetric and Na-electrode methods. Also the CEC values were determined from the adsorption isotherms and were found to be close to the CECs of the smectites. The intercalation of the quaternarized ammonium cations into the interlamellar space of the smectites were evaluated by X-ray powder diffraction technique and the changes of the interlayer spacings upon intercalation were measured. The adsorption and X-ray results indicated that the quaternarized ammonium cations adopt a parallel orientation arrangement in the interlamellar space of the smectites. Insight into the micropore structure of the prepared organo-smectites has been obtained with N$\sb2$ adsorption and desorption studies. The BET interlayer surface area, external surface area, micropore volume and mesopore volume were calculated from the N$\sb2$ adsorption and desorption isotherms. The total BET surface areas of the organo-smectites were in the range of 58-224 m$\sp2$/g, depending on the size of the intercalated cations. It has been implied that the incorporation of the quaternarized ammonium cations into the interlamellar space of the smectites results in a microporous material with a network of cavities whose height and volume are controlled by the size and the shape of the organic cation. The gas chromatographic properties of these organo-smectites have been determined with focus on the separation of air, CH$\sb4$ and CO$\sb2$ as well as the separation of C$\sb1$-C$\sb4$ and C$\sb5$-C$\sb8$ hydrocarbons. The organo-smectites have been proven to be a GC adsorbent for gas separations. The separation of methane and carbon dioxide was controlled by the interactions with the clay surface, not by the interaction with the substituents of the alkylammonium chain. The shapes of the microcavities played a role in the separation of gas mixtures. The CO$\sb2$ retention time has been found to increase with increasing the free surface area of the organo-smectite. Moreover, it has been shown that the retention time of C$\sb1$-C$\sb4$ hydrocarbons decreased with increasing the free volume of the organo-smectite. Furthermore, some microporous organo-smectite materials have been imbedded into the cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymers giving composite membranes. The composite membranes have been evaluated by the gas permeation experiments. The pure gas permeation results showed that the gas permeabilities decreased upon filling of the organo-smectites into the PDMS polymers. The pure gas permeability ratios of O$\sb2$/N$\sb2$ and CO$\sb2$/CH$\sb4$ were found to be controlled by both the organo-smectite content and the microporosity of the organo-smectites. The maximum pure gas permeability ratio for CO$\sb2$/CH$\sb4$ achieved was 8.7 as compared to 3.9 which was obtained for organo-smectite free PDMS membranes.