Disclosed are membranes formed from self-assembling diblock copolymers of the formula (I): ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1-R.sup.4, n, and m are as described herein, which find use in preparing porous membranes. Embodiments of the membranes contain the diblock copolymer that self-assembles into a cylindrical morphology. Also disclosed is a method of preparing such a membrane which involves hybrid casting a polymer solution containing the diblock copolymer to obtain a thin film, followed by evaporation of some of the solvent from the thin film, and coagulating the resulting this film in a bath containing a nonsolvent or poor solvent for the diblock copolymer.

The present invention relates to a polyaromatic polymer that comprises multifunctional aromatic moieties MA, cationic groups CG and bifunctional aromatic moieties BA, wherein one or more CG and one or more BA form a linear unit L, and MA is connected to 3 to 6 linear units L. MA, CG and BA are defined as described in the specification. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a neutral precursor of the polyaromatic polymer and to an anion exchange membrane that comprises a polyaromatic polymer according to the invention.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention encompass a composition comprising one or more of polycyclic olefinic monomers of formula (I) and one or more monomers of formula (III) for forming anion exchange membrane optionally in combination with one or more monomers of formula (II). The composition undergoes mass vinyl addition polymerization either under thermal or photolytic conditions and can be formed into ionomers on a suitable membrane support. The membrane supports thus formed are suitable as anion exchange membranes for fabricating a variety of electrochemical devices, among others. More specifically, the ionomeric membranes are formed on a variety of supports which contains a variety of quaternized amino functionalized norbornene monomeric units which are lightly crosslinked (less than five mol %). The membranes so formed exhibit very high ionic conductivity of up to 280 mS/cm at 80 C. The electrochemical devices made in accordance of this invention are useful as fuel cells, gas separators, and the like.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention encompass a composition comprising one or more of polycyclic olefinic monomers of formula (I) and one or more monomers of formula (III) for forming anion exchange membrane optionally in combination with one or more monomers of formula (II). The composition undergoes mass vinyl addition polymerization either under thermal or photolytic conditions and can be formed into ionomers on a suitable membrane support. The membrane supports thus formed are suitable as anion exchange membranes for fabricating a variety of electrochemical devices, among others. More specifically, the ionomeric membranes are formed on a variety of supports which contains a variety of quaternized amino functionalized norbornene monomeric units which are lightly crosslinked (less than five mol %). The membranes so formed exhibit very high ionic conductivity of up to 280 mS/cm at 80 C. The electrochemical devices made in accordance of this invention are useful as fuel cells, gas separators, and the like.

Disclosed are hydrophilic porous PTFE membranes comprising PTFE and an amphiphilic copolymer, for example, a copolymer of the formula:

##STR00001##

wherein m and n are as described herein. Also disclosed are a method of preparing hydrophilic porous PTFE membranes and a method of filtering fluids through such membranes.

Disclosed are hydrophilic porous PTFE membranes comprising PTFE and an amphiphilic copolymer, for example, a copolymer of the formula:

##STR00001##

wherein m and n are as described herein. Also disclosed are a method of preparing hydrophilic porous PTFE membranes and a method of filtering fluids through such membranes.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention encompass a composition comprising one or more of polycyclic olefinic monomers of formula (I) and one or more monomers of formula (III) for forming anion exchange membrane optionally in combination with one or more monomers of formula (II). The composition undergoes mass vinyl addition polymerization either under thermal or photolytic conditions and can be formed into ionomers on a suitable membrane support. The membrane supports thus formed are suitable as anion exchange membranes for fabricating a variety of electrochemical devices, among others. More specifically, the ionomeric membranes are formed on a variety of supports which contains a variety of quaternized amino functionalized norbornene monomeric units which are lightly crosslinked (less than five mol %). The membranes so formed exhibit very high ionic conductivity of up to 280 mS/cm at 80 C. The electrochemical devices made in accordance of this invention are useful as fuel cells, gas separators, and the like.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention encompass a composition comprising one or more of polycyclic olefinic monomers of formula (I) and one or more monomers of formula (III) for forming anion exchange membrane optionally in combination with one or more monomers of formula (II). The composition undergoes mass vinyl addition polymerization either under thermal or photolytic conditions and can be formed into ionomers on a suitable membrane support. The membrane supports thus formed are suitable as anion exchange membranes for fabricating a variety of electrochemical devices, among others. More specifically, the ionomeric membranes are formed on a variety of supports which contains a variety of quaternized amino functionalized norbornene monomeric units which are lightly crosslinked (less than five mol %). The membranes so formed exhibit very high ionic conductivity of up to 280 mS/cm at 80 C. The electrochemical devices made in accordance of this invention are useful as fuel cells, gas separators, and the like.

The present disclosure is directed to microporous ladder polymers containing amine-functionalized monomer segments, amidoxime-functionalized monomer segments, or a combination thereof. Monomer compounds for preparation of the polymers are also described, as well as membranes and electrochemical cells containing the polymers.

The present disclosure relates to a composite membrane in which a rubbery polymer is introduced into a gutter layer to suppress the physical aging of the highly permeable composite membrane, and more particularly, to a composite membrane comprising a porous support layer; a gutter layer on the porous support layer; and an active layer on the gutter layer, wherein the gutter layer comprises a blend of poly(l-trimethlsilyl-l-propyne) (PTMSP) and a rubbery polymer and a method for preparing the same. The composite membrane according to the present disclosure has high permeation performance and a remarkable decline in physical aging leading to a decrease in permeability over time and thus has very high industrial applicability.