Gas transport properties of asymmetric polyimide membranes prepared by ion‐beam irradiation

Ion beam irradiation has been widely used to modify the structure and properties of membrane surface layers. In this study, the gas permeability and selectivity of an asymmetric polyimide membrane modified by He ion irradiation were investigated using a high vacuum apparatus equipped with a Baratron absolute pressure gauge at 76 cmHg and 35 °C. Specifically, we estimated the effects of the gas diffusion and solubility on the gas permeation properties of the asymmetric membranes with the carbonized skin layer prepared by ion irradiation. The asymmetric polyimide membranes were prepared by a dry–wet phase inversion process, and the surface skin layer on the membrane was irradiated by He ions at fluences of 1 × 10¹⁵ to 5 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm² at 50 keV. The increase in the gas permeability of the He⁺‐irradiated asymmetric polyimide membrane is entirely due to an increase in the gas diffusion, and the gas selectivity increases of the membranes were responsible for the high gas diffusion selectivities. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 262–269, 2007.     

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.     

聚三甲硅基丙炔超薄复合膜的制备及氧氮透过性

聚三甲硅基丙炔超薄复合膜的制备及氧氮透过性邢晶＊张金兰郑国栋徐纪平（中国科学院长春应用化学研究所长春１３００２２）关键词聚三甲硅基丙炔，超薄复合膜，制备，氧氮透过性１９９６－１０－２３收稿，１９９７－０２－１７修回聚三甲硅基丙炔（ＰＴＭＳＰ）是目前透...     

Gas permeation through water-swollen hydrogel membranes

This work deals with water-swollen hydrogel membranes for potential CO₂ separation applications, with an emphasis on elucidating the role of water in the membrane for gas permeation. A series of hydrogel membranes with a wide range of water contents (0.9–10 g water/g polymer) were prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol), chitosan, carboxyl methyl cellulose, alginic acid and poly(vinylamine), and the permeation of CO₂, H₂, He and N₂ through the membranes at different pressures (200–800 kPa) was studied. The gas permeabilities through the dry dense membranes were measured as well to evaluate the resistance of the polymer matrix in the hydrogel membranes. It was shown that the gas permeability in water-swollen membrane is lower than the gas permeability in water, and the selectivity of the water-swollen membranes to a pair of gases is close to the ratios of their permeabilities in water. The permeability of the water-swollen membranes increases with an increase in the swelling degree of the membrane, and the membrane permeability tends to level off when the water content is sufficiently high. A resistance model was proposed to describe gas permeation through the hydrogel membranes, where the immobilized water retained in the polymer matrix was considered to form transport passageways for gas permeation through the membrane. It was shown that the permeability of hydrogel membranes was primarily determined by the water content in the membrane. The model predictions were consistent with the experimental data for various hydrogel membranes with a wide range of water contents (0.4–10 g water/g polymer).     

NaA型分子筛膜的合成及分离性能的研究

在自制的片状多孔陶瓷载体上,通过多次原位水热晶化合成出ＮａＡ型分子筛膜,通过扫描电子显微镜观测,发现在某些区域,小颗粒的ＮａＡ型分子筛以非常紧密的形式畸晶孪生在一起,其致密度远好于由分子筛晶粒松散无规律堆积而形成的膜排列经类膜生长形式可能是获得取致密无缺陷型分子筛膜的一种途径,单组分及双组分气体渗透测试结果表明,在所合成的分子筛膜上,晶粒间隙孔可能是主要的膜扩散通道,可凝聚气体异丁烷因发生毛细管凝     

Pressure-induced change in permeation of insulin through a polymer alloy membrane for an implantable insulin pump

Pressure-induced change in insulin permeability through a polymer alloy membrane for an implantable insulin pump was investigated. The polymer alloy membrane was composed of a segmented polyurethane (SPU) and poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-co-2-ethylhexyl methacrylate) (PMEH). The polymer alloy membrane had a pathway for insulin permeation because the hydrophilic PMEH became the domain structure in the polymer alloy. The functions of the SPU/PMEH alloy membrane were characterized in terms of insulin permeability and water permeability with an applied pressure, mechanical properties, and strain and volume changes under the pressured condition. The insulin permeability synchronized with the applied pressure, that is, the insulin permeability increased 3.4 times with the applied pressure (pressure-on state) of 18 kPa in comparison with no applied pressure (pressure-off state). The permeability changed reversibly without lag time between the pressure-on and -off states. The phenomenon was caused by an increase in water permeation with the applied pressure. From the observation of volume change in the insulin reservoir in the pressure-on state, the effective pressure advancing water permeation was produced by the elasticity of the polymer alloy membrane. The polymer alloy membrane had excellent mechanical properties resisting the applied pressure, as was indicated by stress–strain measurements. It was concluded that the SPU/PMEH alloy membrane had a useful function for an implantable insulin pump.     

Experimental and modeling study of oxygen permeation modes for asymmetric mixed-conducting membranes

An asymmetric mixed-conducting membrane consists of a thin dense layer and a porous support, and its application has drawn considerable attention, because it is expected to have a more promising potential in the practical application compared with the symmetric membrane. However, with the introduction of support in the asymmetric membrane, two possible permeation modes are produced. One mode is that oxygen permeates from the support to the thin dense layer (designated as SD mode). The other is in the direction from the thin dense layer to the support (designated as DS mode). Thus, from the viewpoint of choosing an appropriate oxygen permeation mode to make better use of the membrane, it is necessary to study the oxygen flux in these two modes. In this paper, their effects on the oxygen flux of asymmetric membranes were investigated from the experiment and the model. The modeling results showed a good agreement with the experimental data. Our study demonstrates that when the asymmetric membrane adopts the SD mode, it is beneficial for the membrane to obtain higher oxygen permeation flux.     

Modulation of membrane permeability by carbon dioxide

Promoting drug delivery across the biological membrane is a common strategy to improve bioavailability. Inspired by the observation that carbonated alcoholic beverages can increase the absorption rate of ethanol, we speculate that carbon dioxide (CO₂) molecules could also enhance membrane permeability to drugs. In the present work, we have investigated the effect of CO₂ on the permeability of a model membrane formed by 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine lipids to three drug-like molecules, namely, ethanol, 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine, and trimethoprim. The free-energy and fractional-diffusivity profiles underlying membrane translocation were obtained from μs-timescale simulations and combined in the framework of the fractional solubility-diffusion model. We find that addition of CO₂ in the lipid environment results in an increase of the membrane permeability to the three substrates. Further analysis of the permeation events reveals that CO₂ expands and loosens the membrane, which, in turn, facilitates permeation of the drug-like molecules. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Homogeneous polyimide/cyclodextrin composite membranes for pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol

Composite membranes with a sub-nanoscale homogeneous distribution of CD toroids in the Matrimid matrix were developed for dehydration of aqueous isopropanol. The composite membranes demonstrated separation factor far surpassing that of the neat Matrimid dense membrane. The heart of this innovation is the utilization of a CD derivative, ethylenediamine-β-cyclodextrin (EDA-β-CD), where the amine of CD could react with the imide of Matrimid and efficiently immobilize the CD rings during membrane formation. The superior separation properties for membranes embedded with 2–5% EDA-β-CD were attributed to the additional water channels created by the hydrophilic outer surface of CD and its interactions with the polymer matrix. FT-IR, density measurements and XRD have confirmed these hypotheses. Nevertheless, the separation factor exhibited an increasing then decreasing trend as a function of CD content and the opposite trend was observed with permeation flux. Investigation on the effect of feed water concentration showed that the neat Matrimid membrane possessed almost constant performance, but the Matrimid/EDA-β-CD (0.05) composite membrane exhibited an obvious increase in permeability and a decrease in selectivity at high water content. Even though the composite membrane swelled more at higher water content due to the intensified hydrophilicity ascribed to the introduction of CD structure, it always had much better separation factor. In addition, the Matrimid mixed matrix membranes embedded with 2–5% EDA-β-CD held reasonably tensile strength and modulus. The newly developed mixed matrix membrane approach may open up a new way to prepare next-generation high-performance asymmetric pervaporation membranes for isopropanol separation.     

磺化聚醚醚酮/磷钨酸复合膜的导电和甲醇渗透性能

通过磺化反应制备了磺化聚醚醚酮,1H-NMR测试表明其磺化度分别为0.65和0.73.用共混的方法制备了磺化聚醚醚酮/磷钨酸复合质子交换膜.研究了磺化聚醚醚酮的磺化度和磷钨酸的含量对复合膜的吸水性能?电导率,甲醇渗透性能的影响.随着磺化度和磷钨酸含量的增加,电导率逐渐增大,最高达到1.36×10-2S/cm(20℃),高于相同测试条件下NafionR○117膜的电导率(1.0×10-2S/cm).对复合膜的横向和纵向电导率进行了测试和比较,两者相差接近一个数量级.磷钨酸的掺杂虽然没有降低复合膜的甲醇渗透系数,但是仍然都低于相同条件下测得的NafionR○117膜的甲醇渗透系数.     

Transport of acetylcholine in a membrane

A laminate model of the cleft-plus-postsynaptic membrane structure of the neuromuscular junction was studied. In order to prepare a model of the postsynaptic membrane, the properties of acetylcholine (Ach) receptor-rich vesicles purified from Torpedo fish were measured. Immobilization of vesicles was demonstrated by various methods, in particular, by investigating collagen and carrageenan matrices as models of the fluidfilled fibrous matrix of the cleft. It was found that a laminated system employing a liquid membrane-containing vesicle suspension, together with a swollen collagen membrane, is an appropriate model for examining important transport/reception aspects of the cleft-plus-postsynaptic membrane structure. Combined transport with immobilization of Ach in the liquid membrane system was elucidated and effective diffusivities in the vesicle suspension layer were calculated. Effective diffusivities of the composite system simulating the cleft and the postsynaptic membrane were evaluated as well. These data illustrate the importance of penetrant immobilization in retarding the diffusion process during neurotransmission.     

SEPARATION OF PROPANE FROM PROPANE/NITROGEN MIXTURES USING PDMS COMPOSITE MEMBRANES BY VAPOUR PERMEATION

 This study deals with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes for propane separation from propane/nitrogen mixtures, which is relevant to the recovery of propane in petroleum and chemical industry. The surface and cross-section morphology of PDMS/PVDF composite membranes was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The surface morphology of PDMS/PVDF composite membranes is very dense. There are three layers, the thin dense top layer, finger-like porous middle layer and sponge-like under layer in the cross-section SEM image of PDMS/PVDF composite membranes. The effects of the types of cross-linking agents and pressure on the membrane permselectivity were investigated. The permeability of nitrogen was independent of feed pressure. However, the permeability of propane increased with the pressure increasing for all membranes. The membrane cured by a tri-functional crosslinker with attached vinyl groups had better performance than the tetra-functional one, in both selectivity and permeation flux. The total permeation flux is 1.769× 10^-2 cm³(STP)/(cm²·s) and the separation factor is 19.17 when the mole percent of propane in the gas mixture is 10 at the 0.2 MPa pressure difference and 25°C.     

A Cost‐effective Nafion Composite Membrane as an Effective Vanadium‐Ion Barrier for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Ion exchange membranes play a key role in all vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The mostly available commercial membrane for VRFBs is Nafion. However, its disadvantages, such as high cost and severe vanadium‐ion permeation, become obstacles for large‐scale energy storage. It is thus crucial to develop an efficient membrane with low permeability of vanadium ions and low cost to promote commercial applications of VRFBs. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) has been employed as an additive to the Nafion 212 matrix and a composite membrane named rN212/GO obtained. The thickness of rN212/GO has been reduced to only 41 μm (compared with 50 μm Nafion 212), which indicates directly lower cost. Meanwhile, rN212/GO shows lower permeability of vanadium ions and area‐specific resistance compared to the Nafion 212 membrane due to the abundant oxygen‐containing functional groups of GO additives. The VRFB cells with the rN212/GO membrane show higher Coulombic efficiencies and lower capacity decay than those of VRFB cells with the Nafion 212 membrane. Therefore, the cost‐effective rN212/GO composite membrane is a promising alternative to suppress migration of vanadium ions across the membrane to set up VRFB cells with better performances.     

Toward predictive permeabilities: Experimental measurements and multiscale simulation of methanol transport in Nafion

A polymer membrane's permeability to solutes determines its suitability for various applications: a permeability value is essential for predicting performance in diverse contexts. Using aqueous methanol permeation through Nafion as an example, we describe a methodology for determining membrane permeability that accounts for boundary layer effects and the possibility of swelling. For the materials and apparatus used herein, analysis of a permeance measurement and computational fluid dynamics simulations show that the mass transfer boundary layer is on the order of ones to tens of microns. The data are used to develop and validate a multiscale model describing solute permeation through a hydrated membrane as a series of physical mechanistic steps: reversible adsorption from solution at the membrane interface, diffusion driven by a concentration gradient within the membrane, and reversible desorption into solution at the opposite membrane interface. The validated model is used to predict methanol transport across a solar-driven CO₂ reduction device and to assess the impact of polymer changes on the measured value. The approach of combining experimental data, computational fluid dynamics, and the mechanistic multiscale model is expected to provide more accurate analysis of membrane permeation data in cases with polymer swelling or unusual device geometries, among others.     

Gas transport properties of asymmetric polyimide membranes prepared by plasma‐based ion implantation

In this study, we report the gas permeance and selectivity of the asymmetric polyimide membrane prepared by plasma‐based ion implantation (PBII). The asymmetric polyimide membranes were prepared using a dry–wet phase inversion process, and the surface skin layer on the membrane was implantated by He ions at 2.5 keV. The asymmetric membranes treated by PBII were measured using a high vacuum apparatus with a Baratron absolute pressure gauge at 76 cmHg and 35°C. The (O₂/N₂) and (CO₂/CH₄) selectivities in the He⁺‐implanted asymmetric membrane at 60 sec resulted in 1.5 and 1.8 time increases, respectively, when compared to those of the asymmetric membrane before PBII. On the other hand, the O₂ and CO₂ permeances in the asymmetric membrane after PBII decreased with an increase in the He⁺ treatment time. In this paper, we addressed, for the first time, the gas permeation behavior of the asymmetric polyimide membranes prepared by PBII. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

碳纳米管/聚氨酯杂化膜的原位聚合构建及气体渗透性能

采用H2SO4/HNO3混酸处理得到不同氧化程度的多壁碳纳米管(MWCNT-COOH),再通过与4,4′-二苯基甲烷二异氰酸酯(MDI)、1,4-丁二醇(BDO)的预聚和扩链反应构建碳纳米管/聚氨酯(MWCNT-COOH/PU)杂化膜。利用傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、拉曼光谱(Raman)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)等分析表征多壁碳纳米管结构;探讨了多壁碳纳米管氧化程度和填充量对MWCNTCOOH/PU杂化膜的形貌和CO2、N2渗透性能的影响。结果表明,混酸处理后的多壁碳纳米管带有一定的含氧基团,并随氧化程度的提高,多壁碳纳米管的拉曼光谱G峰和D峰的强度之比(ID/IG)有所增大;氧化程度对多壁碳纳米管在溶剂和杂化膜中的分散性有较大影响,氧化程度越高,分散性越好;杂化膜的CO2、N2渗透性及CO2/N2渗透选择性随多壁碳纳米管氧化程度的增加有所增大,而随多壁碳纳米管填充量的增加表现出先增大后减小的趋势,当氧化程度较高的多壁碳纳米管(H-MWCNT-COOH)填充量为1.0wt%时,H-MWCNT-COOH/PU杂化膜的CO2渗透系数为67.8 Barrer,CO2/N2渗透选择性可达45,表明适量填充MWCNT-COOH能显著提高MWCNT/PU杂化膜的CO2渗透性及CO2/N2的渗透选择性。     

Structure and gas permeability of asymmetric polyimide membranes made by dry–wet phase inversion: Influence of alcohol as casting solution

In this article, we have reported the influence of alcohol as a casting solution on the structure and the gas permeability of asymmetric polyimide membranes made by dry–wet phase inversion. The apparent skin layer thickness of the asymmetric membrane decreased with an increase in molecular weight of the alcohol, and the thicknesses of the membranes made from methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol were 250, 120, 61, and 31 nm, respectively. We found that χ₁₂ as an interaction parameter of solvent–nonsolvent had a significant influence on the phase inversion occurring in the coagulant medium. On the other hand, the gas permeance and the gas selectivity in the asymmetric membranes increased with the increasing molecular weight of the alcohol. We believe that a more packed structure formed in the asymmetric polyimide membrane with a thinner surface skin layer is also responsible for the thickness‐dependence of the gas selectivity obtained in this study. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2739–2746, 2007     

Enhancement on the permeation performance of polyimide mixed matrix membranes by incorporation of graphene oxide with different oxidation degrees

Graphene oxide (GO) with different oxidation degrees were synthesized by harsh oxidation of graphite using the improved Hummers method. The GO/polyimide (PI) mixed matrix membrane was successfully fabricated by in situ polymerization of PI monomers (3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether) with GO. The structure of GO was characterized by Fourier transform infrared, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and thermal gravimetric analysis–differential thermal analysis. The performance of different GO/PI mixed matrix membranes was evaluated by permeation experiments of CO₂/N₂ gas mixture (volume ratio, 1:9). Results showed that more polar functional groups were introduced to GO with the increase in oxidation degree of GO in the preparation process, producing fewer layers and more translucent structures. GO with higher oxidation degree has significant effect on its dispersion in the N,N‐dimethylacetamide solvent and polymer matrix materials. The permeability of GO/PI hybrid membranes for CO₂ and N₂ increased. The CO₂/N₂ permeation selectivity of membranes exhibited a trend of initial increase, followed by a decrease, with the increase in oxidation degree, when the same amount of GO was added. For GO with the same oxidation degree, the permeability and permeation selectivity of hybrid membrane initially increased, and then decreased with the addition content of GO. In the case of hybrid membrane containing 1 wt% monolayer GO, the maximum permeability and permeation selectivity of hybrid membranes for CO₂ were 14.3 and 4.2 times more than that of PI membrane without GO, respectively. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Permeation of carbon dioxide through homogeneous and asymmetric polysulfone membranes

To confirm the validity of the working assumption that a thin dense skin layer in an asymmetric membrane can be essentially replaced by a thick homogeneous dense membrane, both homogeneous and asymmetric polysulfone membranes were prepared by solvent casting, and the permeation behavior of carbon dioxide through these two types of membranes was investigated. The pressure dependence of the mean permeability coefficient through an asymmetric polysulfone membrane is apparently very similar to that through a homogeneous dense membrane, following the dual mode mobility model driven by gradients of chemical potential. The dense skin layer in the asymmetric membrane can be simulated approximately by a homogeneous dense membrane from the point of view of gas sorption and diffusion.     

碳纳米管/聚氨酯杂化膜的原位聚合构建及气体渗透性能

采用H₂SO₄/HNO₃混酸处理得到不同氧化程度的多壁碳纳米管（MWCNT-COOH）,再通过与4,4’-二苯基甲烷二异氰酸酯（MDI）、1,4-丁二醇（BDO）的预聚和扩链反应构建碳纳米管/聚氨酯（MWCNT-COOH/PU）杂化膜。利用傅里叶红外光谱（FTIR）、拉曼光谱（Raman）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）等分析表征多壁碳纳米管结构;探讨了多壁碳纳米管氧化程度和填充量对MWCNT-COOH/PU杂化膜的形貌和CO₂、N₂渗透性能的影响。结果表明,混酸处理后的多壁碳纳米管带有一定的含氧基团,并随氧化程度的提高,多壁碳纳米管的拉曼光谱G峰和D峰的强度之比（I_D/I_G）有所增大;氧化程度对多壁碳纳米管在溶剂和杂化膜中的分散性有较大影响,氧化程度越高,分散性越好;杂化膜的CO₂、N₂渗透性及CO₂/N₂渗透选择性随多壁碳纳米管氧化程度的增加有所增大,而随多壁碳纳米管填充量的增加表现出先增大后减小的趋势,当氧化程度较高的多壁碳纳米管（H-MWCNT-COOH）填充量为1.0wt%时,H-MWCNT-COOH/PU杂化膜的CO₂渗透系数为67.8Barrer,CO₂/N₂渗透选择性可达45,表明适量填充MWCNT-COOH能显著提高MWCNT/PU杂化膜的CO₂渗透性及CO₂/N₂的渗透选择性。