Crosslinked Polyvinylnorbornene‐Based Membranes as a New Class of Solvent‐Resistant Nanofiltration Membranes

Solvent resistant nanofiltration (SRNF) has received increasing attention since the turn of the century within energy- and waste-efficient unit processes. This work explores the synthesis and characterization of crosslinked polynorbornenes for SRNF. A series of polyvinylnorbornene thin-film composite membranes with increasing degree of crosslinking were prepared and tested for their SRNF performance in heptane, chloroform, and toluene. Sudan Black B (457 g mol(-1)) was used as the solute. Then, 99% retention was achieved in heptane, 86% in chloroform, and 75% in toluene. It was further shown that the permeance and retention can be fine-tuned in these solvents by controlling the extent of crosslinking. This work thus introduces the crosslinking of polynorbornenes as a promising material route for SRNF. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.