Covalent “Bridge-crosslinking” strategy constructs facilitated transport mixed matrix membranes for highly-efficient CO2 separation

Abstract

Facilitated transport mixed matrix membranes (FTMMMs) separation technology has shown advantages in improving CO2 recycling efficiency and reducing the environmental impacts associated with carbon emission. The design of FTMMMs is highly dependent on the selection of a compatible combination of polymer and filler. Herein, a novel grafted nanoparticles (GNPs) filler UiO-66-NM@PEG with multiple groups prone to hydrogen bond was designed to alleviate the phase separation and performance degradation caused by filler/polymer poor compatibility. In the GNPs configuration, by employing the coexistence strategy of coupling reaction and covalent bonds, maleic anhydride (MAH) was coupled with the amino group on UiO-66-NH2 without clogging or cracking, and the generated carboxyl groups can be cross-linked with the hydroxyl groups on the poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) by covalent bonds. The UiO-66-NM@PEG demonstrated excellent interface compatibility between the filler and matrix phase of UiO-66-NM@PEG/PVDF, which was further convinced by molecular modelling. The resultant UiO-66-NM@PEG/PVDF achieved a simultaneous enhancement of gas permeability (537.6 Barrer) and ideal CO2/N2 selectivity (47.8), which surpassed Robenson upper bound. Moreover, the UiO-66-NM@PEG/PVDF has a lasting sustainability over 960 h (40 days), and a valid anti-acid/alkali corrosion resistance in harsh environments. More importantly, UiO-66-NM@PEG can also be well mixed with other mixture matrices such as hydroxy-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyether-block-polyamide copolymer (PEBAX) to promote permeability/ideal selectivity up to (724.1 Barrer/21.1) and (307.4 Barrer/31.4). We thus concluded that this rational-design GNPs approach provides a general toolbox for controllable engineering in GNPs whereby enhanced favorable filler/matrix compatibility in FTMMMs with optimized CO2/N2 separation properties.