CO₂-Switchable Membranes Prepared by Immobilization of CO₂-Breathing Microgels

Abstract

Herein, we report the development of a novel CO-responsive membrane system through immobilization of CO-responsive microgels into commercially available microfiltration membranes using a method of dynamic adsorption. The microgels, prepared from soap-free emulsion polymerization of CO-responsive monomer 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEA), can be reversibly expanded and shrunken upon CO/N alternation. When incorporated into the membranes, this switching behavior was preserved and further led to transformation between microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes, as indicated from the dramatic changes on water flux and BSA rejection results. This CO-regulated performance switching of membranes was caused by the changes of water transportation channel, as revealed from the dynamic water contact angle tests and SEM observation. This work represents a simple yet versatile strategy for making CO-responsive membranes.

Tailoring CO2-Responsive Polymers and Nanohybrids for Green Chemistry and Processes

“…The first CO 2 -responsive separation membrane is mainly used for gas separation and solute separation. For example, introducing a CO 2 -responsive PDEAEMA microgel into a commercial filtration membrane M-1 via dynamic adsorption can make the pore sizes of the membrane tunable, and the reason is that the microgels can undergo reversible swelling or shrinking in a CO 2 or N 2 atmosphere . Consequently, the filtration rate and range of the composite membrane become tunable.…”

“…Schematic representation of CO 2 -switchable membranes through immobilization of CO 2 -breathing microgels into microporous membranes via dynamic adsorption. Adapted with permission from ref . Copyright (2017) American Chemical Society.…”

Facile Fabrication of CO2-Responsive Nanofibers from Photo-Cross-Linked Poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) Nanofibers

“…Undeniably, CO 2 -responsive polymers have been considerably investigated in the past five years due to the “green” feature of CO 2 stimulation. − In view of this feature, numerous CO 2 -responsive assemblies, − surfaces, hybrid nanoparticles, , latexes, , and hydrogels − etc. have been reported.…”

Stimuli-Responsive Polymers Providing New Opportunities for Various Applications

“…and gels (macrogel, microgel and nanogel) is among the important behaviors observed (Figure 4d) [26,98,109,[116][117][118]. Wetting, thickening of the polymer layer, change in pore size and change in charge are encountered in brush polymers, films and membranes (see Figures 4e and 4f) [119][120][121][122][123][124][125]. Another behavior is the transformations that can occur in micelle morphologies (Figure 4g) [102,107,115,126].…”