Performance Of Hybrid Membranes Research Articles

Fabrication of polyamide/zwitterion functionalized mesoporous silica nanofiltration membrane with highly enhanced antifouling performance

BackgroundThe nanofiltration membrane plays an important role in wastewater treatment and desalination. Fabricating the hydrophilic separation layer is a good way to construct nanofiltration membranes with both high water flux and antifouling performance. MethodsThe chemical and physical structure of the membrane surface are optimized simultaneously to enhance its performance. Three kinds of zwitterions bearing different positively and negatively charged units are grated onto mesoporous silica (MS), then the functionalized MS nanoparticles are introduced into polyamide separation layer on porous polyethersulfone substrate to construct hybrid nanofiltration membranes. The influence of zwitterion functionalized MS on the structure and comprehensive performance of hybrid membranes is thoroughly investigated by experimental and computational means. Significant findingsThe existence of zwitterion functionalized MS overcomes the tradeoff effect between water flux and salt rejection. The hybrid membrane shows a high water flux of 334.0 L m − 2h − 1 MPa−1 and a superior flux recovery ratio of 94.1% against bovine serum albumin. The corrected zero-point binding energies of three kinds of zwitterions with water molecules are computed for the first time, the carboxybetaine methacrylate shows the highest energy of 36.99 kJ mol−1, explaining why the as-prepared hybrid membranes possess outstanding antifouling performance.

A systematic review of the molecular simulation of hybrid membranes for performance enhancements and contaminant removals

Number of research on molecular simulation and design has emerged recently but there is currently a lack of review to present these studies in an organized manner to highlight the advances and feasibility. This paper aims to review the development, structural, physical properties and separation performance of hybrid membranes using molecular simulation approach. The hybrid membranes under review include ionic liquid membrane, mixed matrix membrane, and functionalized hybrid membrane for understanding of the transport mechanism of molecules through the different structures. The understanding of molecular interactions, and alteration of pore sizes and transport channels at atomistic level post incorporation of different components in hybrid membranes posing impact to the selective transport of desired molecules are also covered. Incorporation of molecular simulation of hybrid membrane in related fields such as carbon dioxide (CO2) removal, wastewater treatment, and desalination are also reviewed. Despite the limitations of current molecular simulation methodologies, i.e., not being able to simulate the membrane operation at the actual macroscale in processing plants, it is still able to demonstrate promising results in capturing molecule behaviours of penetrants and membranes at full atomic details with acceptable separation performance accuracy. From the review, it was found that the best performing ionic liquid membrane, mixed matrix membrane and functionalized hybrid membrane can enhance the performance of pristine membrane by 4 folds, 2.9 folds and 3.3 folds, respectively. The future prospects of molecular simulation in hybrid membranes are also presented. This review could provide understanding to the current advancement of molecular simulation approach in hybrid membranes separation. This could also provide a guideline to apply molecular simulation in the related sectors.

Optimization of Operation Conditions for Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework/Polydimethylsiloxane Hybrid Pervaporation Membranes

AbstractThe separation performance of a membrane is not only related to the membrane, but also to the operating conditions. The operation conditions of superhydrophobic zeolitic imidazolate framework‐90 (S‐ZIF‐90)/polydimethylsiloxane hybrid membranes for pervaporation were optimized using response surface methodology. The separation performances of hybrid membranes were evaluated by regulating the rotation rate, operation temperature, and feed concentration. The regression equations between the operation variables and the separation performance of the hybrid membranes were established and applied to predict and optimize the separation performance of these membranes. The main effects, quadratic effects, and interactions of the three variables on the permeation flux and the separation factor of hybrid membranes were analyzed.

Enhancing proton conductivity and methanol resistance of SPAEK membrane by incorporating MOF with flexible alkyl sulfonic acid for DMFC

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-doped hybrid SPAEK-based proton exchange membranes (PEMs) can combine the advantages of both to promote the comprehensive performance of hybrid membranes. However, the complicated preparation process and low yield of functionalized MOF restricted their application in organic-inorganic hybrid PEMs. Herein, an amino-sulfonic acid-based bi-functionalized MOF (MNCS), containing flexible sulfonic acid chains, was prepared by an uncomplicated and efficient one-step modification method. The sulfonic acid groups on MNCS were grafted to the end of flexible side chains with large free volume, which facilitated the formation of broad and continuous proton transport channels to reduce the activation energy of proton transport. Meanwhile, the amino groups of MNCS establish a second proton transport channel with the sulfonic acid groups in SPAEK due to acid-base pair interactions. Furthermore, owing to the formation of the ionic cross-linking structure, the dimensional stability and methanol resistance of MNCS@SNF-PAEK were significantly improved. Especially, MNCS@SNF-PAEK-1.5 showed the highest proton conductivity of 0.188 S cm−1,endowing it with a maximum power density of 90.8 mW cm−2 in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), which substantially exceeded that of pristine SNF-PAEK membrane. It illustrated that the hybrid membranes by incorporating MNCS showed promising potential in DMFC.

Hybrid Membrane Leading to Improved Ionic Selectivity for Non-Aqueous Redox Flow Battery

The efficient operation of the non-aqueous redox flow battery (NAqRFB) requires a selective membrane that prevents the crossover of the redox species to minimize self-discharge because the crossover-induced capacity loss remains one of the most challenging problems for this battery. At the same time, the membrane must enable high ionic conductivity (i.e. exchange of ions of supporting electrolyte) to lower the ohmic losses. The identification of a highly conductive, yet selective membrane is of paramount importance for market penetration of NAqRFBs. Previously, Nafion 115 was often chosen among the Nafion series to get a trade-off between mechanical strength, ion permeability, and ohmic resistance. The thick membranes have the advantage of higher mechanical strength and lower crossover rates. However, the use of thick membranes induces high ohmic resistance and a large amount of precious Nafion ionomer involved, leading to low performance of the battery and high material cost.This cost and conductivity issue was addressed using porous separators, which are widely used in lithium-ion batteries and flooded lead-acid batteries, as the alternative membrane in RFBs. Unlike Nafion and hydrocarbon membranes, the porous separators have pores at the submicron-size level. These separators usually have no inherent ion-exchange sites but become conductive when soaked in organic solvents because of the formation of an interfacing layer consisting of solvent molecules. The high ionic conductivity combined with remarkably low cost makes it promising for RFB applications. However, there are two main disadvantages in the application of porous separators for the RFB systems. The first one is their inability to absorb the effect of hydraulic permeability, which means that even a small pressure difference between two sides will result in a substantial convective flow causing the volumetric imbalance of electrolyte between the reservoirs. The second one is the lack of selectivity because of the non-existence of any ion-exchange sites. These are the main reasons that porous separators show lower coulumbic efficiency and cycling performance than ion-exchanging membranes like Nafion.Interestingly, these disadvantages can be overcome by the incorporation of a thin ion-exchange (IE) layer sandwiched between microporous separators. A proof-of-concept hybrid membrane for the non-aqueous redox flow battery is introduced in this study. This sandwiching allows us to use the thinnest reinforced IE membrane (like Nafion HP) because it is getting mechanical strength from the layers of micro-porous separators (Celgard 4560 & Celgard 2500). The relationship between the membrane conductivity, redox species crossover, and selectivity was explored to determine the applicability of hybrid membranes for non-aqueous redox flow batteries. Vanadium acetylacetonate-based electrolyte is used as a model to assess the performance of membranes. The hybrid membrane C45-HP-C45 performed best during the battery cycling and C25-HP-C25 allowed to achieve a high limiting current density of 98 mA.cm-2 from the cell which corresponds to the high discharge response CRATE = 13C as compared to the highest achieved for aqueous VRFB (i.e. CRATE = 8.5C). The ideal trend of energy efficiency as a function of selectivity highlights the margin for improvement that exists for the performance of hybrid membranes. Future approaches can be to fabricate the hybrid membrane having a more compact combination of the sandwiched layers either by using any chemical binder or by applying a pressure-based technique. This work is still in progress for in-depth study covering other aspects as well. Figure 1

Hierarchical Structured Polyimide-Silica Hybrid Nano/Microfiber Filters Welded by Solvent Vapor for Air Filtration.

Electrospun polymer membranes were considered to be promising materials for fine particulate matter (PM) filtration. However, the poor mechanical properties of the electrospun membrane restricted their application for pressure-driven air filtration. Herein, strength-enhanced electrospun polyimide (PI) membranes were demonstrated via a synergistic approach. Solvent-vapor treatment was utilized to introduce extra bonding at the cross points of PI nanofiber, while SiO2 nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) were used to reinforce the body of nanofibers. The mechanical strength and filtration performance of hybrid membranes could be regulated by adjusting the quantity of SiO2 NPs. The tensile strength of the pure PI membrane was increased by 33% via adding 1.5% SiO2 NPs, which was further promoted by 70% after solvent-vapor treatment. With a slight reduction in pressure drop (6.5%), the filtration efficiency was not greatly suppressed by welding the SiO2 NP hybrid PI nanofibers. Moreover, the welded composite filter showed high particulate (0.3–1.0 μm) filtration efficiency (up to nearly 100%) and stable pressure drop throughout the 20 tested filtration cycles.

Toward the Highly Ordered Lamellar Hybrid Membrane for Molecular Sieving by One-Pot Self-Assembly of Hybrid Hyperbranched Polymer

Ordered lamellar hybrid membranes are of great interest, due to their application as functional materials, including molecular sieving, biosensors, optical devices, and drug, as well as gene delive...

Electrochemical performance of hybrid membrane of polyaniline layer/full carbon layer coating on nickel foam

Hybrid membrane of polyaniline layer/full carbon layer coating on nickel foam (PANI@FC@NF) is designed as supercapacitor electrode with superior anti-corrosion and capacitance performance in an acidic electrolyte. PANI@FC@NF is prepared by fully coating crack-free carbon layer on nickel foam (FC@NF) through hydrothermal and thermal carbonization of glucose, and then PANI layer is coated on FC@NF through the method of electrodeposition. FC@NF shows much lower corrosion current density (0.284 mA cm−2) and higher corrosion potential (-0.171 V) in 1.0 M H2SO4, compared with NF (7.208 mA cm−2 and -0.208 V). PANI@FC@NF electrode achieves specific capacitance of 610 mF cm−2 at 1.0 mA cm−2 and cycling capacitance retention of 77.63 % at 2.0 mA cm−2 after 1000 cycles in 0.5 M H2SO4. All-solid-state symmetrical supercapacitor using PANI@FC@NF electrode and polyvinyl alcohol-H2SO4 gel electrolyte achieves 41 μWh cm−2 at 0.9 mW cm−2 and an excellent cycling performance.

Preparation and Properties of Hybrid Silane-crosslinked Sulfonated Poly(aryl ether ketone)s as Proton Exchange Membranes

A series of novel organic-inorganic hybrid proton-conducting electrolyte membranes with silane-crosslinked sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone)(SC-SPAEK) networks was prepared via a simple procedure that includes solution casting and acid treatment. The organosilicon pendants of the silane-grafted SPAEK, which were expected to serve as coupling and crosslinking agents, were found to play a key role in the homogenous dispersion of inorganic particles and improved the performance of hybrid membranes. The hybrid membranes exhibited enhanced proton conductivity, and SC-SPAEK/TiO2-4 showed an extremely high proton conductivity of 0.1472 S/cm at 100 °C. The crosslinked hybrid membranes also demonstrated good chemical resistance, oxidative stability, and mechanical properties. The crosslinked hybrid membranes with excellent comprehensive performance may be a promising material for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Hybrid Cation Exchange Membranes with Lithium Ion‐Sieves for Highly Enhanced Li+ Permeation and Permselectivity

AbstractCation exchange membranes (CEMs) hold promise for efficient and environment‐friendly lithium extraction from salt‐lake brine. However, development and practical application of CEMs are significantly hindered by the low Li+ permeation and permselectivity. Herein, novel hybrid CEMs are developed by dispersing lithium ion‐sieves (LMO) into sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) matrix. Two kinds of LMOs are synthesized including acidified LMO (HMO) and its sulfonation compound (HMO‐S). The physicochemical property and separation performance of hybrid membranes are systematically investigated. The uniformly dispersed HMO and HMO‐S enhance the thermal, mechanical stability, and swelling resistance of hybrid membranes. Furthermore, these fillers obviously reduce the area resistance from 8.0 to less than 6.0 Ω cm−2. Importantly, the unique Li+ transfer channels in HMO/HMO‐S efficiently elevate the Li+ permeation by up to 66%. While the “ion‐sieve effect” of the channels weakens the migration of Mg2+ and K+, thus notably rising Li+/Mg2+ and Li+/K+ permselectivities by ≈5 times, which is difficult to realize with conventional fillers. Comparing with HMO, HMO‐S shows higher improvement for permselectivity because of the reduced area resistance of the resultant hybrid membrane. This study paves a way to design and development of selective Li+ exchange membranes for transport and separation applications.

Influence of blending zwitterionic functionalized titanium nanotubes on flux and anti-fouling performance of polyamide nanofiltration membranes

Organic–inorganic hybrid membranes represent an efficient approach to construct membranes with both improved membrane flux and solute selectivity. Zwitterions bearing equimolar number of anions and cations in one monomer unit exhibit excellent anti-fouling characteristics. Based on the exceptional separation performance of hybrid membrane and fouling resistance feature of zwitterions, a novel nanofiltration membrane was fabricated by incorporating zwitterionic functionalized titanium nanotubes (z-TNTs) into polyamide (PA) layer. The special tubular structure of z-TNTs can provide more and shorter internal channels to shorten flow lanes for water molecules. The zwitterionic functionalization on the titanium nanotubes surface improved not only the interfacial compatibility between nano-materials and polymer matrix but also the antifouling performance of membranes. The water flux of membrane prepared with z-TNTs was up to 220 L m−2 h−1 MPa−1 while the Na2SO4 rejection remained above 90%. The as-prepared z-TNTs/PA membrane exhibited improved anti-fouling property against protein with a notably reduced flux decline ratio.

Enhancement Performance of Hybrid Membrane Zeolite/PES for Produced Water Treatment With Membrane Modification Using Combination of Ulta Violet Irradiation, Composition of Zeolite and Thermal Annealing

Produced water is a wastewater from oil production that must be treated well. Membrane is one alternative of water treatments technology based on filtration method. However, in the use of membrane, there’s no exact optimal variable that influences membrane performance.This underlying research to assess factors that influences membrane performance to obtain optimal condition. Therefore, the objectives of this study are determining the effect of variable process in membrane fabrication and several modification techniques on membrane performance. The membranes were fabricated via dry-wet phase inversion method. The process variables of this experiment are varying the Zeolite concentration by low level 1% weight and 3% weight, UV irradiation time low level 2 minutes and high level 6 minutes, thermal annealing temperature low level 160°C and high level 180°C. The experiment runs were designed using central composite design. From the research that has been perfromed, PES/Zeolit membrane has a higher permeability after being irradiated by UV light and denser pore after heating and the longer of annealing time.

Enhanced dehydration performance of hybrid membranes by incorporating fillers with hydrophilic-hydrophobic regions

In this study, sulfonated pitch (SP), composed of hydrophilic sulfonate groups and hydrophobic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, was incorporated into sodium alginate (SA) membranes for ethanol dehydration via pervaporation. The morphologies and structures of the SP and hybrid membranes were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and water contact angle measurement. Hydrophilic sulfonate groups in SP formed hydrophilic regions which can bind water molecules, ensuring sufficient water occupancy in the membranes, while the hydrophobic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons provided continuous transport “highways” for the water molecules. Meanwhile, the introduction of SP created more polymer-filler interface cavities, rendering the membrane with suitable free volume property for separation. Consequently, the membrane demonstrated a maximum permeation flux of 1879 ± 80 g/m2 h coupled with an optimal separation factor of 1913 ± 69 in separating 90 wt% ethanol aqueous solution. These resulted in an increase over the SA control membrane of 1.5-fold and 4-fold respectively. Moreover, the hybrid membranes exhibited good operation stability. The results suggested that incorporating fillers with hydrophilic-hydrophobic regions in the membranes can be an effective strategy to improve the performance of water-permselective membranes.

Elevated performance of hybrid membranes by incorporating metal organic framework CuBTC for pervaporative desulfurization of gasoline

Metal organic framework CuBTC nanoparticles were incorporated into polyether-block-amide (Pebax) to promote the transport of penetrant molecules in the membranes. The CuBTC nanoparticles can form hydrogen-bonds with the Pebax chains, thus interfered with the chain packing and tailored the free volume properties of Pebax. The channels and active metal sites of CuBTC promoted the transport of sulfur-containing molecules when the membranes were employed for gasoline desulfurization. When the filler content was 2wt%, the optimal separation performance was achieved with a permeation flux of 4.4kg/(m2h) and a thiophene enrichment factor of 6.0 at 40°C, increased by 36% and 11% compared with the Pebax pristine membrane. The comprehensive performance of the membranes is more competitive than widely-used PDMS membranes, especially under high temperatures. A permeation flux of 16.45kg/(m2h) is reached with an enrichment factor of 4.04 at 70°C.

Enhanced dehydration performance of hybrid membranes by incorporating lanthanide-based MOFs

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with high hydrolytic stability are highly needed to prepare polymer-MOFs hybrid membranes working in aqueous solution media. In this study, [Eu(BTB)(H2O)2·solvent]n (abbreviated as EuBTB), a kind of lanthanide-based two-dimensional MOFs, was utilized to prepare hybrid membranes for organic solvent dehydration owing to their hydrolytic stability arising from the relatively strong coordination bond between lanthanide ions and oxygen-containing groups. The detailed structure and properties of the hybrid membranes were well characterized. The hybrid membranes exhibited high mechanical strength and swelling resistance due to the strong interfacial interaction benefiting from the well complexation of EuBTB and sodium alginate (SA) through carboxylic groups. The horizontally aligned lamellar EuBTB could render ordered channels with the diameter of 0.5–0.8nm. Each Eu3+ in EuBTB could coordinate two water molecules and serves as carriers to facilitate the transportation of water molecules. Moreover, the incorporated EuBTB could render decreased crystallinity. Accordingly, the hybrid membranes exhibited superior permeability and selectivity for ethanol dehydration. Especially, the membrane containing 5wt% EuBTB exhibited an optimum performance with permeation flux of 1996g/m2h and separation factor of 1160 for 90wt% ethanol aqueous solution at 350K. Meanwhile, the hybrid membranes showed good long-term stability. This study may offer a generic and efficient approach to prepare MOFs-based hybrid membranes with high performance and stability for water-selective separation.

Pervaporation performance comparison of hybrid membranes filled with two-dimensional ZIF-L nanosheets and zero-dimensional ZIF-8 nanoparticles

Two kinds of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (two-dimensional ZIF-L nanosheets and zero-dimensional ZIF-8 nanoparticles) with the same building blocks were synthesized. Both the ZIF-L and ZIF-8 materials were incorporated into sodium alginate (SA) matrix to fabricate hybrid membranes for pervaporation dehydration of ethanol. At the filler content of 4wt%, the ZIF-L-filled membrane displayed permeation flux of 1218g/(m2h) and separation factor of 1840, while the ZIF-8-filled membrane displayed permeation flux of 879g/(m2h) and separation factor of 678. The superior separation performance of the ZIF-L-filled membrane is due to the following two reasons: the ordered alignment and the regular apertures of ZIF-L rendered ordered water channels for rapid transport of water molecules; the suitable apertures of ZIF-L rendered the desirable molecular sieving effect. Furthermore, the hybrid membranes exhibited both good swelling resistance as well as thermal and mechanical stability. This is a step forward in realizing superior performance of hybrid membranes incorporating two-dimensional porous fillers for separation processes.

Enhanced pervaporative performance of hybrid membrane by incorporating amphiphilic carbonaceous material

Amphiphilic carbonaceous material (ACM) was blended with sodium alginate (SA) and then deposited onto the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) porous support layer to fabricate SA-ACM/PAN hybrid membranes. As a two-dimensional material, ACM provided anisotropy, horizontal stacking orientation and high aspect ratio. The abundant oxygen-containing functional groups (–NO2, –SO3H, –OH, –COOH and epoxy group) on the edge of ACM (proved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer) offered the hydrophilic region, while the unoxidized part on the surface of ACM offered hydrophobic region. The hydrophilic region on ACM could preferentially adsorb water molecules and then facilitate water molecules entering the transport channel due to the hydrogen bond, while the hydrophobic region could realize the fast diffusion of water molecules. The small nanosheet size (200–400nm, observed by atomic force microscopy) could interfere the arrangement of polymer chains more efficiently. The hybrid membranes exhibited the optimal permeation flux of 1778g/m2h and separation factor of 1816 for ethanol dehydration under 76°C and 10wt% feed water concentration, which is much higher than that of SA membrane (increased by 139% and 306%, respectively).

Preparation and properties of sulfonated poly (2, 6-dimethyl-1, 4-phenyleneoxide)/mesoporous silica hybrid membranes for alkali recovery

Cation exchange membranes (CEMs) aimed at alkali recovery were prepared by incorporation of amino-modified mesoporous silica (AMMS) particles into sulfonated poly (2, 6-dimethyl-1, 4-phenyleneoxide) (SPPO). The as-prepared membranes possess water uptake (WR) of 36–42.1%, swelling degree of 49.7–60.5%, mass loss around 8–16.6%, tensile strength (TS) of 26–30.8 MPa, as well as favorable thermal stability. The samples were investigated in NaOH/Na2WO4 model waste feed solution for alkali recovery via diffusion dialysis (DD) at various temperatures. Results revealed that the hybrid membrane always maintain high values of OH− coefficients and separation factors as well even at 55 °C. Improved performances of hybrid membranes were most likely due to the acid-base pairs between amino and sulfonic acid group and crosslinking between sulfonic acid groups under thermal treatment.

A poly(arylene ether sulfone) hybrid membrane using titanium dioxide nanoparticles as the filler

Poly(arylene ether sulfone) (PES)–titanium dioxide (TiO2) hybrid membranes were prepared via solution blending method using TiO2 nanoparticles as inorganic filler. The chemical structure and thermal stability of the matrix polymer were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The crystal structure, morphology, mechanical properties, and gas separation performance of hybrid membranes were characterized in detail. As shown in scanning electron microscopic images, TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed homogeneously in the matrix. Although the mechanical properties of hybrid membranes decreased certainly compared to the pure PES membranes, they are strong enough for gas separation in this study. All gas permeability coefficients of PES-TiO2 hybrid membranes were higher than pure PES membranes, attributed to the nanogap caused by TiO2 nanoparticles, for instance, oxygen and nitrogen permeability coefficients of Hybrid-3 (consists of PES with 4-amino-phenyl pendant group and hexafluoroisopropyl (Am-PES)-20 and TiO2 nanoparticles, 5 wt%) increased from 2.57 and 0.33 to 5.88 and 0.63, respectively. In addition, the separation factor increased at the same time attributed to the stimulative transfer effect caused by the interaction of hydroxyl groups on the TiO2 nanoparticle and polar carbon dioxide molecules.

Enhanced performance of polyimide hybrid membranes for benzene separation by incorporating three-dimensional silver–graphene oxide

Graphene oxide-Ag nanoparticle composites were prepared through impregnation reduction using different reactants. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were performed to characterize differences in the morphologies of three different Ag–GO composites. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry analyses were also applied to evaluate the morphology and thermal stability of the hybrid membranes. Swelling–sorption and pervaporation experiments of benzene and cyclohexane were conducted to evaluate the separation performance of hybrid membranes containing different Ag–GO composites. Results demonstrated that small Ag nanoparticles generated through impregnation reduction using Ag(NH3)2+ and PEG were homogeneously distributed in the hybrid membranes because of moderate reduction rate. The polymide (PI) hybrid membrane exhibited high separation performance. Increase in Ag content in the Ag–GO samples led to the formation of Ag particles on the GO surface; these particles enhanced the separation performance of the hybrid membranes. When Ag-GO samples with 15 mass percent added, the hybrid membrane showed the highest separation performance and its maximum separation factor in the pervaporation experiments reached 35. It is more than three times higher than that of the GO/PI hybrid membrane. Moreover, large Ag particles were formed and aggregated during the preparation and polymerization of Ag–GO samples with high Ag contents; these particles reduced the separation performance of the hybrid membranes.