(278b) Hydrogen-Sieving Zeolitic Films By Filter Deposition on Porous Polymeric Support

The synthesis of high-performance gas-sieving zeolitic film is challenging because it involves seeded secondary growth which is complex and difficult to reproduce. Additionally, expensive asymmetric inorganic porous supports are required to allow high-temperature activation. Herein, scalable preparation of H₂-sieving RUB-15 nanosheet films is reported bypassing the need for secondary growth and expensive supports. A novel, low-cost, thermally-robust, porous polybenzimidazole copolymer (PBI-AM Fumion^®) support is prepared which allows deposition of thin, compact, and oriented RUB-15 nanosheets films without cracks or pinhole defects. The film hosts two transport pathways, H₂-sieving six-membered silicate rings in the nanosheets and nonselective intersheet gaps maintained by the organic guest species in the gallery spacing. The latter is eliminated either (i) low-temperature (330 ºC) calcination or (ii) room-temperature extraction where the crystalline order in the nanosheets is preserved. The resulting zeolitic films on the polymeric support yield extremely promising H₂-sieving performances with H₂/CO₂ separation factor approaching 1000.