Implications of Permeation through Intrinsic Defects in Graphene on the Design of Defect-Tolerant Membranes for Gas Separation

Gas transport through intrinsic defects and tears is a critical yet poorly understood phenomenon in graphene membranes for gas separation. We report that independent stacking of graphene layers on a porous support exponentially decreases flow through defects. On the basis of experimental results, we...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sun, Chengzhen, O’Hern, Sean C., Au, Harold, Boutilier, Michael Stephen Hatcher, Hadjiconstantinou, Nicolas, Karnik, Rohit
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Chemical Society (ACS) 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99471
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0588-9286
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1670-2264
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6309-2318
Description
Summary:Gas transport through intrinsic defects and tears is a critical yet poorly understood phenomenon in graphene membranes for gas separation. We report that independent stacking of graphene layers on a porous support exponentially decreases flow through defects. On the basis of experimental results, we develop a gas transport model that elucidates the separate contributions of tears and intrinsic defects on gas leakage through these membranes. The model shows that the pore size of the porous support and its permeance critically affect the separation behavior, and reveals the parameter space where gas separation can be achieved regardless of the presence of nonselective defects, even for single-layer membranes. The results provide a framework for understanding gas transport in graphene membranes and guide the design of practical, selectively permeable graphene membranes for gas separation.