In this work, a series of polyphenylsulfones containing imidazole group in the polymer chain (imPPSU) was successfully synthesized. The permeability of gases carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and helium through a series of imPPSUs was determined at 25°C and an upstream pressure of 1 atm. The effects of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic groups on permeability coefficient and selectivity for the gas pairs CO2/O2, CO2/N2, and O2/N2 were discussed. The polymers containing imidazole group exhibited high permeability and surprisingly higher selectivity considering the interaction between CO2 and imidazole group. Imidazole groups were introduced into polymers by a simple synthetic scheme. In addition, we investigated the effect on the content of the imidazole group on the permeability of CO2.
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