Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance
Polyimide (PI) membrane is an ideal gas separation material due to its advantages of high designability, good mechanical properties and easy processing; however, it has equilibrium limitations in gas selectivity and permeability. Introducing nanoparticles into polymers is an effective method to impr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/24/5391 |
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| author | Shiyang Zhang Xiaochuang Lu Mingwei Cai Zhi Wang Zhenjing Han Zhiyin Chen Rongtao Liu Kaixin Li Yonggang Min |
| author_facet | Shiyang Zhang Xiaochuang Lu Mingwei Cai Zhi Wang Zhenjing Han Zhiyin Chen Rongtao Liu Kaixin Li Yonggang Min |
| author_sort | Shiyang Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Polyimide (PI) membrane is an ideal gas separation material due to its advantages of high designability, good mechanical properties and easy processing; however, it has equilibrium limitations in gas selectivity and permeability. Introducing nanoparticles into polymers is an effective method to improve the gas separation performance. In this work, nano-attapulgite (ATP) functionalized with KH-550 silane coupling agent was used to prepare polyimide/ATP composite membranes by in-situ polymerization. A series of characterization and performance tests were carried out on the membranes. The obtained results suggested a significant increase in gas permeability upon increasing the ATP content. When the content of ATP was 50%, the gas permeability of H<sub>2</sub>, He, N<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and CO<sub>2</sub> reached 11.82, 12.44, 0.13, 0.84, 0.10, and 4.64 barrer, which were 126.87%, 119.40%, 160.00%, 140.00%, 150.00% and 152.17% higher than that of pure polyimide, respectively. No significant change in gas selectivity was observed. The gas permeabilities of membranes at different pressures were also investigated. The inefficient polymer chain stacking and the additional void volume at the interface between the polymer and TiO<sub>2</sub> clusters leaded to the increase of the free volume, thus improving the permeability of the polyimide membrane. As a promising separation material, the PI/ATP composite membrane can be widely used in gas separation industry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59026aca68204030a8d65788cb53fc80 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:56:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-59026aca68204030a8d65788cb53fc802023-11-24T17:31:23ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-12-011424539110.3390/polym14245391Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation PerformanceShiyang Zhang0Xiaochuang Lu1Mingwei Cai2Zhi Wang3Zhenjing Han4Zhiyin Chen5Rongtao Liu6Kaixin Li7Yonggang Min8School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaInstitute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaPolyimide (PI) membrane is an ideal gas separation material due to its advantages of high designability, good mechanical properties and easy processing; however, it has equilibrium limitations in gas selectivity and permeability. Introducing nanoparticles into polymers is an effective method to improve the gas separation performance. In this work, nano-attapulgite (ATP) functionalized with KH-550 silane coupling agent was used to prepare polyimide/ATP composite membranes by in-situ polymerization. A series of characterization and performance tests were carried out on the membranes. The obtained results suggested a significant increase in gas permeability upon increasing the ATP content. When the content of ATP was 50%, the gas permeability of H<sub>2</sub>, He, N<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and CO<sub>2</sub> reached 11.82, 12.44, 0.13, 0.84, 0.10, and 4.64 barrer, which were 126.87%, 119.40%, 160.00%, 140.00%, 150.00% and 152.17% higher than that of pure polyimide, respectively. No significant change in gas selectivity was observed. The gas permeabilities of membranes at different pressures were also investigated. The inefficient polymer chain stacking and the additional void volume at the interface between the polymer and TiO<sub>2</sub> clusters leaded to the increase of the free volume, thus improving the permeability of the polyimide membrane. As a promising separation material, the PI/ATP composite membrane can be widely used in gas separation industry.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/24/5391polyimideattapulgitegas separationpermeabilityselectivity |
| spellingShingle | Shiyang Zhang Xiaochuang Lu Mingwei Cai Zhi Wang Zhenjing Han Zhiyin Chen Rongtao Liu Kaixin Li Yonggang Min Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance Polymers polyimide attapulgite gas separation permeability selectivity |
| title | Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance |
| title_full | Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance |
| title_fullStr | Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance |
| title_short | Attapulgite Nanorod-Incorporated Polyimide Membrane for Enhanced Gas Separation Performance |
| title_sort | attapulgite nanorod incorporated polyimide membrane for enhanced gas separation performance |
| topic | polyimide attapulgite gas separation permeability selectivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/24/5391 |
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