Improved CO2 separation performance of composite membrane with the aids of low-temperature plasma treatment

Publication date: Available online 19 October 2018Source: Journal of Membrane ScienceAuthor(s): Dan Zhao, Yongdong Wu, Jizhong Ren, Hui Li, Yongtao Qiu, Maicun DengAbstractIn this paper, Pebax and Pebax-Tripropionin (TPP) blend multilayer composite membranes were firstly prepared with the aids of low-temperature plasma treatment, and the CO2/N2 separation properties of the prepared composite membranes were studied. For multilayer composite membranes, PDMS gutter layer was modified with low-temperature plasma of air. The surface properties of the modified PDMS gutter layer (PDMS-plasma) were characterized by contact angle and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). After treatment, the polar groups were formed on the surface of PDMS and made it hydrophilic, then a defect-free thin Pebax selective layer was successfully formed on PDMS-plasma gutter layer. The CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity of Psf/PDMS-plasma/Pebax composite membrane were 170 GPU and 49 respectively. Moreover, TPP was blended with Pebax to further enhance the CO2 permeation of the composite membranes, where TPP acted as a plasticizer and hindered the formation of hydrogen bonding in Pebax. The CO2 permeances of Psf/PDMS-plasma/Pebax-TPP blend composite membranes increased greatly with the increase of TPP content. And, the CO2 permeance of Psf/PDMS-plasma/Pebax-TPP (50 wt%) composite membrane was higher than 400 GPU, which was almost two and half times of that of composite membrane without TPP....
Source: Journal of Membrane Science - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research