Manh-Tuan Vu1,2, Gloria M Monsalve-Bravo1, Rijia Lin1, Mengran Li1, Suresh K Bhatia1, Simon Smart1,3. 1. School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia. 2. Institute for Tropical Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam. 3. Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Abstract
Nanodiamonds (ND) have recently emerged as excellent candidates for various applications including membrane technology due to their nanoscale size, non-toxic nature, excellent mechanical and thermal properties, high surface areas and tuneable surface structures with functional groups. However, their non-porous structure and strong tendency to aggregate are hindering their potential in gas separation membrane applications. To overcome those issues, this study proposes an efficient approach by decorating the ND surface with polyethyleneimine (PEI) before embedding it into the polymer matrix to fabricate MMMs for CO2/N2 separation. Acting as both interfacial binder and gas carrier agent, the PEI layer enhances the polymer/filler interfacial interaction, minimising the agglomeration of ND in the polymer matrix, which is evidenced by the focus ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). The incorporation of PEI into the membrane matrix effectively improves the CO2/N2 selectivity compared to the pristine polymer membranes. The improvement in CO2/N2 selectivity is also modelled by calculating the interfacial permeabilities with the Felske model using the gas permeabilities in the MMM. This study proposes a simple and effective modification method to address both the interface and gas selectivity in the application of nanoscale and non-porous fillers in gas separation membranes.
Nanodiamon class="Chemical">nds (ND) have recently emerged as excellent candidates for various applications including membrane technology due to their nanoscale size, non-toxic nature, excellent mechanical and thermal properties, high surface areas and tuneable surface structures with functional groups. However, their non-porous structure and strong tendency to aggregate are hindering their potential in gas separation membrane applications. To overcome those issues, this study proposes an efficient approach by decorating the ND surface with polyethyleneimine (PEI) before embedding it into the polymer matrix to fabricate MMMs for CO2/N2 separation. Acting as both interfacial binder and gas carrier agent, the PEI layer enhances the polymer/filler interfacial interaction, minimising the agglomeration of ND in the polymer matrix, which is evidenced by the focus ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). The incorporation of PEI into the membrane matrix effectively improves the CO2/N2 selectivity compared to the pristine polymer membranes. The improvement in CO2/N2 selectivity is also modelled by calculating the interfacial permeabilities with the Felske model using the gaspermeabilities in the MMM. This study proposes a simple and effective modification method to address both the interface and gas selectivity in the application of nanoscale and non-porous fillers in gas separation membranes.
Authors: Weina Liu; Boris Naydenov; Sabyasachi Chakrabortty; Bettina Wuensch; Kristina Hübner; Sandra Ritz; Helmut Cölfen; Holger Barth; Kaloian Koynov; Haoyuan Qi; Robert Leiter; Rolf Reuter; Jörg Wrachtrup; Felix Boldt; Jonas Scheuer; Ute Kaiser; Miguel Sison; Theo Lasser; Philip Tinnefeld; Fedor Jelezko; Paul Walther; Yuzhou Wu; Tanja Weil Journal: Nano Lett Date: 2016-09-21 Impact factor: 11.189
Authors: Blake T Branson; Paul S Beauchamp; Jeremiah C Beam; Charles M Lukehart; Jim L Davidson Journal: ACS Nano Date: 2013-03-28 Impact factor: 15.881