Abstract
In this study, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) consisting of graphene oxide (GO) and functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) incorporated in a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) serving as a polymer matrix have been fabricated by dip-coating method, and their single gas transport properties were investigated. Successfully surface-modified GOs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of FGO loading on MMM morphology and performance was investigated by varying the FGO content in polymer matrix from 9 to 84 wt.%. Use of high FGO content in the polymer matrix helped to reveal difference in interaction of functionalized fillers with PIM-1 and even to discuss the change of FGO stiffness and filler alignment to the membrane surface depending on functional group nature.
Highlights
Graphene is a promising carbon nanomaterial for future applications
Thin-film composite (TFC) mixed matrix membranes containing PIM-1 as a matrix polymer and three different graphene based fillers synthesized in the course of the current work have demonstrated difference of filler materials properties
The pristine graphene oxide (GO) acts as an effective barrier material for single gas transport through the PIM-1/GO selective layer with both permeance and ideal selectivity decreasing with an increase of the GO loading
Summary
Graphene is a promising carbon nanomaterial for future applications. Being a two-dimensional allotropic modification of carbon, graphene can be effectively used as a potential material in molecular separation technologies. Defect-free graphene works as an impermeable material to all molecules. Thanks to the two-dimensional morphology, an incorporation of even small amounts of this material into polymeric membranes helps to effectively hinder the transport of gases and liquids as for example graphene nanoplatelets (less than 0.0075 wt.%) dispersed in PIM-1 reduce the permeability coefficients of gases by a factor of three [1, 2]. In case of PET coated with a low amount of graphene (0.4 wt.%), oxygen permeability was fourfold reduced [3]. APTS-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) incorporated PVDF membrane showed a
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