A nanoporous film formed from a series of vinyl addition block polymers derived from functionalized norbornene monomers are disclosed and claimed. The nanoporous films as disclosed herein are useful as pervaporation membranes and antireflective coatings among various other uses. Also disclosed herein are the fabrication of nanoporous films into pervaporation membranes which exhibit unique separation properties, and their use in the separation of organic volatiles from biomass and/or organic waste, including butanol, phenol, and the like. The fabrication of nanoporous films into antireflective coatings are also disclosed.

Provided is a method for producing a porous polyimide film with which it is possible to suppress the occurrence of curling in the polyimide-fine particle composite film obtained by firing the unfired composite film. The method for producing a porous polyimide film of the present invention includes, in the following order: forming an unfired composite film using a varnish that contains a resin including polyamide acid and/or polyimide, fine particles, and a solvent; immersing the unfired composite film in a solvent including water; firing the unfired composite film to obtain a polyimide-fine particle composite film; and removing the fine particles from the polyimide-fine particle composite film.

The present invention provides a carbon membrane for fluid separation with which a high-pressure fluid can be separated and purified and which has excellent pressure resistance and is less apt to be damaged. The present invention relates to a carbon membrane for fluid separation, including: a core layer which has a co-continuous porous structure; and a skin layer which has substantially no co-continuous porous structure and is formed around the core layer.

A membrane for purifying a liquid stream includes a porous substrate and alternating layers of positively charged material and negatively charged material adhered to the porous substrate, wherein at least two of the layers of charged materials possess free ion exchange capacity.

Disclosed is a composite material comprising a support member that has a plurality of pores extending therethrough, which pores are durably filled or coated with a non-crosslinked gel polymer. Also disclosed is a process for the preparation of the composite material, use of the composite material as a separation medium, and a filtering apparatus comprising the composite material.

Described in the present application are methods of producing silane-crosslinked polymer membranes at moderate temperatures using acid catalysts that, in certain embodiments, result in membranes with unexpectedly high permeabilities and selectivities. In certain embodiments, grafting and crosslinking of the silanes occur by immersing a preformed membrane in a solution comprising a silane and an acid catalyst. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, grafting of silanes to a polymer occurs in the presence of acid catalyst in solution and subsequent casting and drying produces crosslinked membranes. In certain embodiments, an acid catalyst is a weak acid catalyst. Also described in the present application are asymmetric crosslinked polymer membranes with porous layers. In certain embodiments, crosslinked cellulose acetate membranes have permeability up to an order of magnitude greater than the permeability of unmodified cellulose acetate membranes. The membranes have porous layers with a high porosity due to their processing in moderate conditions.

A method of manufacturing a green body, the method comprising: providing: a third composition comprising a second substrate material, a third polymer, a fusing agent, and a third solvent; forming the third composition into a structure wherein the third composition forms a third layer; and contacting the third layer with a fourth solvent in which the third polymer is insoluble to precipitate said polymer, thereby forming a green body.

A substrate is further manufactured by: arranging a plurality of green bodies to form an assembly of green bodies;
fusing the green bodies in the assembly together, thereby forming a precursor substrate; and sintering the precursor substrate, thereby forming a substrate.

Described in the present application are methods of producing silane-crosslinked polymer membranes at moderate temperatures using acid catalysts that, in certain embodiments, result in membranes with unexpectedly high permeabilities and selectivities. In certain embodiments, grafting and crosslinking of the silanes occur by immersing a preformed membrane in a solution comprising a silane and an acid catalyst. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, grafting of silanes to a polymer occurs in the presence of acid catalyst in solution and subsequent casting and drying produces crosslinked membranes. In certain embodiments, an acid catalyst is a weak acid catalyst. Also described in the present application are asymmetric crosslinked polymer membranes with porous layers. In certain embodiments, crosslinked cellulose acetate membranes have permeability up to an order of magnitude greater than the permeability of unmodified cellulose acetate membranes. The membranes have porous layers with a high porosity due to their processing in moderate conditions.

Process for making membranes M comprising the following steps: a) providing a dope solution D comprising at least one polymer P and at least one solvent S, b) adding at least one coagulant C to said dope solution D to coagulate said at least one polymer P from said dope solution D to obtain a membrane M, wherein said at least one solvent S comprises more than 50% by weight of at least one compound according to formula (I) (I), wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are independently C.sub.1 to C.sub.20 alkyl, R.sup.3 is selected from H or an aliphatic rest, 20 R.sup.4 is selected from H or an aliphatic rest, AO represents at least one alkylene oxide, n is a number from 0 to 100.

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Multicomponent copolymers including two or more types of repeat units is presented. In one example, the multicomponent copolymer includes at least one repeat unit AC having a structure (I), at least one repeat unit DC having a structure (II), and at least one repeat unit BC having a structure (III) or (V). The multicomponent copolymer may be cross-linked via a cross-linking agent. A polymer blend including the multicomponent copolymer or a cross-linked copolymer and a second polymer is also provided. The multicomponent copolymer may be a random or a block copolymer. The structural units of the multicomponent copolymers provide improved, tunable properties, such as improved biocompatibility and hydrophilicity, protein fouling, and mechanical properties, to the copolymers and/or the membranes fabricated from the copolymers.