Membranes with Fast and Selective Gas‐Transport Channels of Laminar Graphene Oxide for Efficient CO2 Capture

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were engineered to be assembled into laminar structures having fast and selective transport channels for gas separation. With molecular‐sieving interlayer spaces and straight diffusion pathways, the GO laminates endowed as‐prepared membranes with excellent preferential CO₂ permeation performance (CO₂ permeability: 100 Barrer, CO₂/N₂ selectivity: 91) and extraordinary operational stability (>6000 min), which are attractive for implementation of practical CO₂ capture.     

Characterization of SAPO-34 membranes by water adsorption

The effects of humidity on gas permeation were studied for five SAPO-34 membranes with different fractions of permeation through non-SAPO pores. Membranes with high CO₂/CH₄ separation selectivities (>20) were stable in humidified gases, but degradation was seen for some membranes after months of exposure to the laboratory atmosphere. Once the membranes started to degrade, the rate of degradation appeared to accelerate. The degradation created non-SAPO pores that were larger than the SAPO-34 pores, as indicated by i-C₄H₁₀ permeance, CO₂/CH₄ selectivity, and CO₂ flux dependence on pressure. The effect of humidity on gas permeance correlated with these indicators of non-SAPO pores. Adsorbed water appeared to completely block the SAPO pores, but permeation through non-SAPO pores increased with humidity. Therefore, water adsorption can be used to determine membrane quality and the fraction of transport through non-SAPO pores.     

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

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.     

Poly(vinylalcohol)/poly(ethyleneglycol)/poly(ethyleneimine) blend membranes - structure and CO2 facilitated transport

Poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA)/poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)/poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) blend membranes were prepared by solution casting followed by solvent evaporation. The effects of the blend polymer composition on the membrane structure and CO₂/N₂ permeation characteristics were investigated. IR spectroscopy evidenced strong hydrogen bonding interactions between amorphous PVA and PEI, and weaker interactions between PVA and PEG. DSC studies showed that PVA crystallization was partially inhibited by the interactions between amorphous PVA and PEI blend, in which PEG separated into nodules. The CO₂ permeability decreased with an increase in CO₂ partial pressure in feed gas, while the N₂ permeability remained constant. This result indicated that only CO₂ was transported by the facilitated transport mechanism. The CO₂ and N₂ permeabilities increased monotonically with the PEI content in the blend membranes, whereas the ideal selectivity of CO₂ to N₂ transport showed a maximum. When CO₂ is humidified, its permeability through the blend membranes is much higher than that of dry CO₂, but the change in permeability due to the presence of humidity is reversible.     

CO2/H2 separation by facilitated transport membranes immobilized with aqueous single and mixed amine solutions: Experimental and modeling study

An experimental and theoretical analysis to separate CO₂ using facilitated transport membranes immobilized with different aqueous single and mixed amine solutions have been performed. The membranes containing monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), monoprotonated ethylenediamine (EDAH⁺) and piperazine (PZ), as well as aqueous blends of PZ with MEA, DEA or EDAH⁺ were considered. The aqueous solution of PZ showed the highest CO₂ permeation rate with respect to other single amine solutions. Therefore blends of PZ with MEA, DEA and EDAH⁺ increased the permeance of carbon dioxide through mixed amine membranes.     

MIL-101(Cr) Microporous Nanocrystals Intercalating Graphene Oxide Membrane for Efficient Hydrogen Purification

Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising two-dimensional building block for fabricating high-performance gas separation membranes. Whereas the tortuous transport pathway may increase the transport distance and lead to a low gas permeation rate, introducing spacers into GO laminates is an effective strategy to enlarge the interlayer channel for enhanced gas permeance. Herein, we propose to intercalate CO₂-philic MIL-101(Cr) metal-organic framework nanocrystals into the GO laminates to construct a 2D/3D hybrid structure for gas separation. The interlayer channels were partially opened up to accelerate gas permeation. Meanwhile, the intrinsic pores of MIL-101 provided additional transport pathways, and the affinity of MIL-101 to CO₂ molecules resulted in higher H₂/CO₂ diffusion selectivity, leading to a simultaneous enhancement in gas permeance and separation selectivity. The MIL-101(Cr)/GO membrane with optimal structures exhibited outstanding and stable mixed-gas separation performance with H₂ permeance of 67.5 GPU and H₂/CO₂ selectivity of 30.3 during the 120-h continuous test, demonstrating its potential in H₂ purification application.     

Gas transport through homogeneous and asymmetric polyethersulfone membranes

Both homogeneous and asymmetric polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were prepared by solvent casting. The sorption and permeation behavior of CO₂, O₂, and N₂ using these two kinds of cast PES membranes and commercially available homogeneous PES film was investigated to extract the pressure dependence of gas permeability and the permselectivity for CO₂ relative to N₂, and to confirm the validity of the working assumption that a skin layer in an asymmetric membrane can be essentially replaced by a thick homogeneous dense membrane. The pressure dependence of the mean permeability coefficient to CO₂ in homogeneous membranes obeys the dual-mode mobility model. The ideal separation factor for CO₂ relative to N₂ at an upstream pressure of 0.5 MPa attains ca. 40, while the permeability to CO₂ is about 2.7 Barrer at the same upstream pressure. The same separation factor in asymmetric membranes amounts to 35. The diffusion behavior for the skin layer in an asymmetric membrane with a thin skin layer can be simulated approximately by that in a homogeneous dense membrane. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structure Regulation of MOF Nanosheet Membrane for Accurate H2/CO2 Separation

High-purity H₂ production accompanied with a precise decarbonization opens an avenue to approach a carbon-neutral society. Metal–organic framework nanosheet membranes provide great opportunities for an accurate and fast H₂/CO₂ separation, CO₂ leakage through the membrane interlayer galleries decided the ultimate separation accuracy. Here we introduce low dose amino side groups into the Zn₂(benzimidazolate)₄ conformation. Physisorbed CO₂ served as interlayer linkers, gently regulated and stabilized the interlayer spacing. These evoked a synergistic effect of CO₂ adsorption-assisted molecular sieving and steric hinderance, whilst exquisitely preserving apertures for high-speed H₂ transport. The optimized amino membranes set a new record for ultrathin nanosheet membranes in H₂/CO₂ separation (mixture separation factor: 1158, H₂ permeance: 1417 gas permeation unit). This strategy provides an effective way to customize ultrathin nanosheet membranes with desirable molecular sieving ability.     

Effect of nonsolvent additive on the surface morphology and the gas separation performance of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene)oxide membranes

Integrally skinned asymmetric membranes were prepared from poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene)oxide (PPO) using different nonsolvent additives. These nonsolvent additives consisted of branched and linear alcohols ranging from C₃ to C₁₀. Permeation data of these membranes were obtained from a constant pressure permeation system for pure gases of CO₂, CH₄, O₂ and N₂. An empirical correlation relating the pure gas permeance ratio of CO₂/CH₄ and the structural components of the nonsolvent additives has been proposed. The membranes were characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM) and intrinsic viscosity measurements. It was observed that there were two types of surface morphologies: merged nodules and discrete nodules. The appearance of the nodules were reflected in the mean roughness data, R_a. It was revealed that membranes with smaller and merged nodules resulted in higher pure gas permeance ratios for O₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄ with the exception of 3,5,5-trimethyl-1-hexanol and 3-ethyl-2,2-dimethyl-3-pentanol. The microscopic studies showed that the membranes containing discrete nodules resulted in lower pure gas permeance ratios for O₂/N₂ and CO₂/CH₄. It was observed that nonsolvent additives that possess a long straight hydrocarbon chain such as 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 1-octanol and 2-decanol produced the highest pure gas permeance ratios.     

Effect of introduction of heterocyclic moieties into polymer backbone on gas transport properties of fluorinated poly(ether imide) membranes

The effects of incorporation of heterocyclic moieties into fluorinated poly(ether imide) membranes on their gas transport properties were investigated. Four novel fluorinated poly(ether imide) (PEI) membranes were prepared from four different bis(ether amine)s namely, 4,4-bis[3′-trifluromethyl-4′(4′′-aminobenzoxy)bezyl]biphenyl (BAQP); 1,4-bis[3′-trifluromethyl-4′(4′′-aminobenzoxy)bezyl] benzene (BATP); 2,6-bis[3′-trifluromethyl-4′(4′′-aminobenzoxy)bezyl]pyridine (BAPy) and 2,5-bis[3′-trifluromethyl-4′(4′′-aminobenzoxy)bezyl]thiophene (BATh), and a fluorinated dianhydride, 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (6FDA) as a common dianhydride. Gas transport properties of these membranes were measured to investigate the effect of chemical structure on gas permeation and diffusion processes over four different gases (e.g., CH₄, N₂, O₂ and CO₂) at different temperatures (e.g., 35, 45 and 55 °C) at an applied pressure of 3.5 bar. It has been found that at 35 °C the permselectivities of BAPy and BATh based polymeric membranes (6.4 and 6.6, respectively) toward O₂ relative to N₂ are higher in comparison to BAQP and BATP (5.5 and 5.3, respectively) containing PEI membranes. The permeability coefficient of CO₂ for BAPy and BATh (51.92 and 45.31, respectively at 35 °C) based PEI membranes were observed to be much higher than BAQP and BATP based membranes (36.61 and 33.51, respectively at 35 °C) with comparable selectivity values of CO₂ relative to CH₄. All these membranes exhibit higher CO₂/CH₄ selectivity than those of common glassy polymers e.g., cellulose acetate, polysulfone and polycarbonate. The order of permeability of these gases was found as CO₂ > O₂ > N₂ > CH₄. The temperature dependency of permeation and diffusion processes enables to calculate the activation energies of the permeation and diffusion processes for these four different gases through four PEI membranes.     

Nanoporous and proton conductive hydrophobic–hydrophilic copolymer thermoset membranes

Copolymers of hydrophobic diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) vinyl ester (VE) and hydrophilic 2‐acrylamido 2‐methyl 1‐propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) were evaluated as proton conducting membranes for fuel cell applications. Membranes were synthesized using free radical copolymerization in the presence of a common solvent for both monomers, dimethyl formamide (DMF), followed by solvent removal by supercritical CO₂ to induce porosity. Micrographs revealed pore sizes below 60 nm with porosity proportional to the initial solvent fraction used. Studies on the states of water showed that the presence of this pore volume significantly altered the freezable water fraction at equivalent AMPS concentrations. Comparison of the moles of water per mole of sulfonic acid (λ) between copolymer membranes and AMPS monomer solutions showed that the nonfreezable water (λ|_nonfr) was depressed at high AMPS concentrations, suggesting that differences in interatomic distances between sulfonic acid groups might alter λ|_nonfr. The highest average through plane conductivity of membranes was determined to be 30 mS/cm and was comparable to that of Nafion®117 (27 mS/cm). The effective proton mobility, μ_eff, was calculated and suggested to be a parameter used to capture the effects of membrane structure and swelling while acting as a comparison between different membrane types. Fuel cell tests on membranes at low ion exchange capacities were compared to Nafion®117, with suggestions on improvements of copolymer structures for improved performance. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1245–1255, 2010     

An advanced gas/vapor permeation system for barrier materials: Design and applications to poly(ethylene terephthalate)

A new gas/vapor mixture permeation system is described to investigate the effect of organic molecules on oxygen (O₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) transport in barrier materials. Methanol vapor was considered as a flavor simulant mainly because of its conveniently high diffusion coefficient, which makes the experimental time accessible. A highly accurate syringe pump was used to introduce a desired activity level of vapor into gas feed stream. Adsorption of methanol on high energy surfaces is carefully characterized to prevent underestimation of methanol permeability. A special permeation cell was also developed to study the effect of interacting vapors on O₂ and CO₂ transport in barrier materials. Systematic permeation measurements were conducted for binary and ternary gas/vapor permeation measurements (e.g., MeOH/O₂ and O₂/CO₂/MeOH) to verify the feasibility of our new vapor/gas permeation system. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Temperature and pressure effects on CO2 and CH4 permeation through MFI zeolite membranes

Single gas and mixture permeances of CO₂ and CH₄ were measured as functions of pressure and temperature through three MFI zeolite membranes that have different fractions of their permeances through non-zeolite pores. The effect of pressure on CO₂ permeance, which was different for each membrane, was fit by a modified surface diffusion model. The differences in the pressure behavior of the membranes are attributed to pores with viscous and Knudsen flow. Membranes with the largest permeation through non-zeolite pores have the lowest CO₂/CH₄ mixture selectivity. The highest CO₂/CH₄ mixture selectivity is 5.5 at room temperature and decreases with temperature because of a decrease in competitive adsorption. Although increasing pressure at constant pressure drop increases the apparent CO₂/CH₄ selectivity, the ratio of the CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes decreases.     

Influence of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) and poly(N,N′‐diethyl acrylamide) coatings on polysulfone/polyacrylonitrile‐based membranes for protein separation

Herein we describe the design and the assembly of temperature sensitive polysulfone (PS)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) blend membranes using supercritical fluid technology. Blended membranes were prepared using the CO₂‐assisted phase inversion method, and their pores were coated with two thermoresponsive hydrogels‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly(N,N′‐diethylacrylamide) (PDEAAm). Permeation experiments of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (LYS) solutions were used to evaluate the performance and temperature‐responsive behavior of coated membranes. While membranes coated with PNIPAAm presented similar protein permeation profiles at temperatures below and above its lower critical solution temperature, PDEAAm coating imparted a temperature‐responsive behavior to PS/PAN (90:10) membranes and selective permeation of proteins with different sizes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent advances in polymeric facilitated transport membranes for carbon dioxide separation and hydrogen purification

Membrane and membrane process have been widely considered as one of the best candidates for mitigating CO₂ emissions from the combustion or utilization of fossil fuels. Various amine-containing polymers constitute an important class of membranes, where the highly selective CO₂ transport is achieved by the facilitated transport mechanism. In this review, the amine–CO₂ chemistry is discussed in conjunction with the mechanism of the reaction-mediated CO₂ transport. A wide variety of amine-containing polymers are discussed based on two synthesis motifs: (a) polyamines with amino groups covalently bound to the polymer backbone and (b) small molecule amines embedded in a polymer matrix. This review concludes with the remarks on the facilitated transport membranes for post-combustion carbon capture (CO₂/N₂) and hydrogen purification (CO₂/H₂).     

Fluorinated polyimide nanocomposites for CO2/CH4 separation

The purpose of this project was to synthesize fluorinated polyimide (PI) nanocomposite membranes in order to study the gas permeation rates and selectivity of carbon dioxide and methane. PIs were synthesized from 2,2‐bis(3,4‐anhydrodicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (6F dianhydride, 6FDA) and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether (oxydianiline, ODA) into which were incorporated nanoparticulate additives as follows: in situ TiO_2, both plain and treated with dodecyl sulfate surfactant, and organo‐clay (Cloisite®‐10 Å) at loads of 1, 3, and 5 wt% to the polyamic acid. Polyamic acid films were solvent cast, cured at 200°C then post‐cured at 300°C and measured for permeation data and for thermal properties. Glass transition temperatures ranged from 124 to 140°C for the cured PIs and from 142 to 147°C for the post‐cured materials, the nano‐inclusions having little discernable effect on this property. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data show that the inclusion of Cloisite® or TiO₂ caused a small decrease of thermal stability from 555°C to about 532 to 541°C. The inclusion of clay causes a decreased permeation rate while the addition of TiO₂ improves the rate and selectivity. Treating the nanofillers with surfactant decreases selectivity and marginally increases rate of permeation of CO₂. Post‐curing caused a darkening of the composites, but not the neat PI. This heat treatment also resulted in a significantly decreased permeation rate, but a significantly increased selectivity. The resulting material shows superior gas separation properties to the commercially available PI, Matrimid® produced by Ciba‐Geigy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dual mode model for mixed gas permeation of CO2, H2, and N2 through a dry chitosan membrane

Dry chitosan is an excellent candidate for facilitated transport membranes that can be utilized in industrial applications, such as fuel cell operations and other purification processes. This article is the first to report temperature effects on transport properties of CO₂, H₂, and N₂ in a gas mixture typical of such applications. At a feed pressure of 1.5 atm, CO₂ permeabilities increased (0.381–26.1 barrers) at temperatures of 20–150 °C with decreasing CO₂/N₂ (19.7–4.55) and CO₂/H₂ (3.14–1.71) separation factors. The pressure effect on solubilities and permeabilities were fitted to the extended dual mode model and its corresponding mixed gas permeation model. The dual mode and transport parameters, the sorption heats and the activation energies of Henry's and Langmuir's regimes and their pre‐exponential parameters were determined. The Langmuir's capacity constants were utilized to estimate chitosan's glass transition temperature (CO₂: 172 °C, N₂: 175 °C, and H₂: 171 °C). The activation energies of diffusion in the Henry's law and Langmuir regimes were dependent on the collision diameter of the gases. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2620–2631, 2007     

Separation of CO2 and CH4 by a DDR membrane

The permeation of CO₂ and CH₄ and their binary mixtures through a DDR membrane has been investigated over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. The synthesized DDR membrane exhibits a high permeance and maintains a very high selectivity for CO₂. At a total pressure of 101 kPa, the highest selectivity for CO₂ in a 50∶50 feed mixture was found to be over 4000 at 225 K. This is ascribed to the higher adsorption affinity, as well as to the higher mobility for the smaller CO₂ molecules in the zeolite, preventing the bypassing of the CH₄ through the membrane. An engineering model, based on the generalized Maxwell-Stefan equations, has been used to interpret the transport phenomena in the membrane. The feasibility of DDR membranes as applied to CO₂ removal from natural gas or biogas is anticipated.     

Synthesis of crosslinked PEG/IL blend membrane via one-pot thiol–ene/epoxy chemistry

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based membranes have obtained considerable attentions for CO₂ separation for their promising CO₂ separation performance and excellent thermal/chemical resistance. In this work, a one-pot thiol–ene/epoxy reaction was used to prepare crosslinked PEG-based and PEG/ionic liquids (ILs) blend membranes. Four ILs of the same cation [Bmim]⁺ with different anions ([BF₄]⁻, [PF₆]⁻, [NTf₂]⁻, and [TCM]⁻) were chosen as the additives. The chemical structure, thermal properties, hydrophilicity, and permeation performance of the resultant membranes were investigated to study the ILs' effects. An increment in CO₂ permeability (~34%) was obtained by optimizing monomer ratios and thus crosslinking network structures. Adding ILs into optimized PEG matrix shows distinct influences in CO₂ separation performance depending on the anions' types, due to the different CO₂ affinities and compatibilities with PEG matrix. Among these ILs, [Bmim][NTf₂] was found the most effective in enhancing CO₂ transport by simultaneously increasing the solubility and diffusivity of CO₂. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. J. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 58, 2575-2585     

Permeability and morphology of poly(cis‐butadiene)/ester‐ether liquid crystal composite membranes

Various amounts of diethylene glycol bis[4‐(4′‐ethoxybenzoyloxy)benzoate] (DEBEB) were added into a poly(cis‐butadiene) (PB) membrane to improve its gas permeation ability. This type of rubber/liquid crystal (LC) composite membranes showed two obvious characteristics that are different from the gas permeation behavior reported in previous literature: (1) The permeabilities to O₂, N₂, and CO₂ were enhanced at room temperature, for example, the permeabilities for the PB/DEBEB (90/10) membrane were higher above six times than those of PB membrane under the same conditions. It is suggested that the interface microvoids probably existed on pontes between polar crystal domains and nonpolar PB matrix. (2) All relationships between the permeability coefficient (P) and temperature (T) were characterized by N‐shape, that is, there were the peaks and valleys on the P‐T curves. Furthermore, morphology studies demonstrated that when DEBEB content in the membranes was above 10 wt %, it was spherically dispersed and embedded in the PB matrix in a crystal domain state. Gas permeation characteristics of the composite membranes were appropriately interpreted as together influence results of DEBEB phase transition behavior and the membrane morphology. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1833–1840, 2000