Effect of Backbone Rigidity on the Glass Transitionof Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity Probed by Fast Scanning Calorimetry

Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIMs) of high performance have developed as materials with a wide application range in gas separation and other energy-related fields. Further optimization and long-term behavior of devices with PIMs require an understanding of the structure–property relationships, including physical aging. In this context, the glass transition plays a central role, but with conventional thermal analysis a glass transition is usually not detectable for PIMs before their thermal decomposition. Fast scanning calorimetry provides evidence of the glass transition for a series of PIMs, as the time scales responsible for thermal degradation and for the glass transition are decoupled by employing ultrafast heating rates of tens of thousands K s–1. The investigated PIMs were chosen considering the chain rigidity. The estimated glass transition temperatures follow the order of the rigidity of the backbone of the PIMs.