High‐performance Polymer Membranes with Multi‐functional Amphiphilic Micelles for CO₂ Capture

Abstract

Herein, we report a high performance polymer membrane with simultaneously large improvements in the CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivity. These improvements are obtained by incorporation of a multi-functional amphiphilic comb copolymer micelle, that is, poly(dimethylsiloxane)-g-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PDMS-g-POEM), into a poly(amide-b-ethylene oxide) (Pebax) matrix. Both CO2 and N2 permeabilities continuously increased with PDMS-g-POEM content, whereas the CO2/N2 selectivity increased up to 40 wt % of PDMS-g-POEM, which enabled the maximum performance to approach the upper bound limit (2008). The membranes with PDMS-g-POEM exhibited greater CO2 permeability and CO2/N2 selectivity than those with a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8), a well-known expensive inorganic filler, indicating the effectiveness of PDMS-g-POEM micelles for CO2 capture.

High‐Performance Polymers for Membrane CO2/N2 Separation

“…Another approach to improve separation performance is to design polymers with short PEO side chains with flexible chain end groups . For example, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate (PEGMEA) contains short EO runs ( n =9) with methoxy chain end groups (Table ).…”

Highly Permeable Oligo(ethylene oxide)‐co‐poly(dimethylsiloxane) Membranes for Carbon Dioxide Separation

“…On the other hand, the enhancement of CO 2 /N 2 solubility selectivity via the introduction of CO 2 ‐philic groups into the polymer matrix is known to increase CO 2 /N 2 selectivity; however, the limitation of this approach is not known. A great deal of research has focused on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) functionality, which shows high affinity for quadrupolar CO 2 molecules . As estimated by Lin and Freeman, the CO 2 /N 2 selectivity in amorphous PEO could reach 48, which exceeds the practical CO 2 /N 2 selectivity requirement for flue gas treatment .…”

“…Due to the inherently low permeability of PEO, regardless of molecular weight, the design of freestanding PEO‐containing membranes having high gas permeability presents a significant challenge. In recent years, researchers have reported a variety of modifications of PEO‐containing materials, aiming to achieve better gas transport properties as well as acceptable mechanical strength …”

Blends of a Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity and Partially Sulfonated Polyphenylenesulfone for Gas Separation

“…[1] Since 1980, polymeric membranes have been widely used for gas separation because of their relativelyl ow cost ande asy processing into ah ollow fiber configurationf or industrial applications. [2] Inorganic or composite membranes consisting of nanoparticles, [3] zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, [4] metal-organic frameworks, [5] carbon molecular sieves, [6] inorganic fillers, [7] and other materials [8] tend to have better thermala nd chemical stabilitya nd higher selectivity for gas separation. Nevertheless, their drawbacks include mechanical brittleness, considerable costs, difficultyi ni n pore-size control, and the formation of ad efect-free layer, which may make them less commerciallya ttractive.…”