High Performance Gas Separation Mixed Matrix Membrane Fabricated by Incorporation of Functionalized Submicrometer-Sized Metal-Organic Framework.

Baosheng Ge,Wenguang Wang,Yaoli Guo,Haoru Zhao,Haixiang Sun,Yanyan Xu

doi:10.3390/ma11081421

Baosheng Ge, Wenguang Wang + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081421

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Aug 13, 2018
Citations: 42	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: China University of Petroleum, East China

Abstract

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) attract great attention due to their outstanding gas separation performance. The compatibility between the fillers and the polymer matrix is one of the key points for the preparation of high-performance MMMs. In this work, MMMs consisting of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of amine-modified Cu-BTC (NH2-Cu-BTC; BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) and submicrometer-sized amine-modified Cu-BTC (sub-NH2-Cu-BTC) incorporated into a Pebax-1657 polymer were fabricated for the gas separation. The SEM image and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra showed an increase in the surface roughness of MOFs and the presence of amino groups on the surface of Cu-BTC after the amination modification, and a decrease in the size of MOFs crystals after the submicrometer-sized aminated modification. Gas adsorption analysis indicated that NH2-Cu-BTC and sub-NH2-Cu-BTC had a higher gas adsorption capacity for CO2 compared to the unmodified Cu-BTC. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image showed that NH2-Cu-BTC and sub-NH2-Cu-BTC, especially sub-NH2-Cu-BTC, had a better compatibility with a polyether-block-amide (Pebax) matrix in the MMMs. The gas separation performance indicated that the Pebax/sub-NH2-Cu-BTC MMMs evidently improved the CO2/N2 and CO2/CH4 selectivity at the expense of a slight CO2 permeability. The results reveal that modified MOF-filled MMMs possess great potential for applications in the CO2 separation field.

Highlights

Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is one of the main gases which cause global warming, corrode the natural gas pipelines, and reduce the combustion efficiency of natural gas
Polymer membranes are regarded as an effective media for the separation of gaseous mixtures accounting for a high separation efficiency, low running costs, and simple operating procedures
The fillers embedded in the polymer matrix are classified into conventional fillers and alternative fillers (carbon nanotubes (CNTs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and graphene [8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18])

Summary

Introduction

Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is one of the main gases which cause global warming, corrode the natural gas pipelines, and reduce the combustion efficiency of natural gas To overcome these problems, the effective separation of CO2 /N2 and CO2 /CH4 has become a hot research topic in recent years. The fillers embedded in the polymer matrix are classified into conventional fillers (zeolites [8], silicas [9], and metal oxides) and alternative fillers (carbon nanotubes (CNTs), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and graphene [8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]) These fillers may lead to the development of high-performance membranes based on the properties and functionalization of fillers. One of the most important problems is the generation of non-selective voids because of the incompatibility between the fillers and polymer matrix at the interface, which decreases the overall gas separation efficiency of the membrane

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