Enhanced CO₂ Permeability of Membranes by Incorporating Polyzwitterion@CNT Composite Particles into Polyimide Matrix

Abstract

In this study, polyzwitterion is introduced into a CO2 separation membrane. Composite particles of polyzwitterion coated carbon nanotubes (SBMA@CNT) are prepared via a precipitation polymerization method. Hybrid membranes are fabricated by incorporating SBMA@CNT in polyimide matrix and utilized for CO2 separation. The prepared composite particles and hybrid membranes are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with element mapping, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and an electronic tensile machine. Water uptake and water state of membranes are measured to probe the relationship among water uptake, water state and CO2 transport behavior. Hybrid membranes show significantly enhanced CO2 permeability compared to an unfilled polyimide membrane at a humidified state. A hybrid membrane with 5 wt % SBMA@CNT exhibits the maximum CO2 permeability of 103 Barrer with a CO2/CH4 selectivity of 36. The increase of CO2 permeability is attributed to the incorporation of the SBMA@CNT composite particles. First, SBMA@CNT form interconnected channels for CO2 transport due to the facilitated transport effect of the quaternary ammonium in repeat unit of pSBMA. Second, SBMA@CNT improve water uptake and adjust water state of membrane, which further increases CO2 permeability. Meanwhile, the variation of CO2/CH4 selectivity is dependent on the bound water portion in the membrane. A gas permeation test at a dry state and a pressure test are conducted to further probe the membrane separation performance.

Tuning of Nano-Based Materials for Embedding Into Low-Permeability Polyimides for a Featured Gas Separation

“…By means of several approaches, the functionalization of CNTs has been performed, including covalent functionalization, defect functionalization, and non-covalent functionalization (Hirsch, 2002;Sahoo et al, 2010). A couple of years ago, Liu et al (2014) prepared polyzwitterion-coated CNTs by means of the precipitation polymerization method, which were later introduced into the Matrimid R matrix and used for CO 2 separation at humidified conditions. These complex hybrid membranes showed significantly higher CO 2 permeation than did the unfilled PI membrane.…”

Pebax/MWCNTs‐NH2 mixed matrix membranes for enhanced CO2/N2 separation

“…utilized chitosan and β‐Cyclodextrin as coating layer to wrap MWCNTs, resulting in a better dispersion and separation performance compared to unwrapped MWCNTs 27,28 . Also, other polymers such as N‐isopropylacrylamide, 29 polyzwitterion 30 , and polyaniline (PANI) 31 were used in CNTs composite in attempt to enhance the gas permeability and dispersion of fillers. On the other hand, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups (NH 2 , OH) on the outer surface of MWCNT/CNT is a promising method for uniform dispersion and considerable separation performance.…”

High Performance Gas Separation Mixed Matrix Membrane Fabricated by Incorporation of Functionalized Submicrometer-Sized Metal-Organic Framework

“…The fillers embedded in the polymer matrix are classified into conventional fillers (zeolites [8], silicas [9], and metal oxides) and alternative fillers (carbon nanotubes (CNTs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and graphene [8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]). These fillers may lead to the development of high-performance membranes based on the properties and functionalization of fillers.…”