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Science 3 February 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5761, pp. 639 - 642
DOI: 10.1126/science.1118079
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Reports

Plasticization-Enhanced Hydrogen Purification Using Polymeric Membranes

Haiqing Lin,1,2 Elizabeth Van Wagner,1 Benny D. Freeman,1* Lora G. Toy,3 Raghubir P. Gupta3

Polymer membranes are attractive for molecular-scale separations such as hydrogen purification because of inherently low energy requirements. However, membrane materials with outstanding hydrogen separation performance in feed streams containing high-pressure carbon dioxide and impurities such as hydrogen sulfide and water are not available. We report highly permeable, reverse-selective membrane materials for hydrogen purification, as exemplified by molecularly engineered, highly branched, cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide). In contrast to the performance of conventional materials, we demonstrate that plasticization can be harnessed to improve separation performance.

1 Center for Energy and Environmental Resources and Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78758, USA.
2 Membrane Technology and Research, 1360 Willow Road, Suite 103, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
3 Center for Energy Technology, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: freeman{at}che.utexas.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Polymers with Cavities Tuned for Fast Selective Transport of Small Molecules and Ions.
H. B. Park, C. H. Jung, Y. M. Lee, A. J. Hill, S. J. Pas, S. T. Mudie, E. Van Wagner, B. D. Freeman, and D. J. Cookson (2007)
Science 318, 254-258
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)