The project examines the synthesis and characterization of new polymers to be used for membranes with improved characteristics for oxygen separation from air. Polymers and copolymers are synthesized with main-chain Schiff-base/Co(II) coordination. The polymers are modified to improve their long-term stability to oxygen complexation. the objectives are to study the relation between polymer structure and oxygen binding parameters. Membranes formed from these polymers are studied with respect to their permeability to O2 and N2. UV- Visible spectrophotometry is used to identify complexes with oxygen. Pulsed-laser flash photolysis is used to determine complexation rate constants. The results should have an impact on synthesizing novel polymeric materials for membrane- gas-separations and possibly other applications.
