Pebax/poly(vinyl alcohol) mixed matrix membrane incorporated by amine‐functionalized graphene oxide for CO₂ separation

Abstract

Graphene oxide nanoparticles (GO) were firstly functionalized using p‐phenylenediamine and then utilized as nanofillers to prepare poly(ether‐block‐amide) (Pebax®‐1657)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA‐60000)‐based mixed‐matrix membranes. The modified GO as well as the fabricated mixed matrix membranes underwent some characterization analyses, including FTIR, TGA, XRD, FESEM, and EDX. The influence of amine‐modified nanoparticles content (2, 4, and 6 wt%), and feed pressure on CO2, CH4, and N2 permeabilitis and ideal CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities values of the MMMs were investigated. The permeation experiments demonstrated that Pebax/PVA (10 and 15 wt%) blend membranes caused an increase in CO2 permeability owing to the high affinity of polar CO2 molecules to polar PVA segments. Moreover, the incorporation of 6 wt% amine‐functionalized GO into the Pebax/PVA (10 wt%) and Pebax/PVA (15 wt%) blend polymer raised the CO2 permeability and CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivity by nearly 43%, 28%, and 37%, respectively, due to the higher CO2 adsorption capacity of the amine‐functionalized GO.