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Investigation of the silica pore size effect on the performance of polysulfone (PSf) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for gas separation

  • Gholamhossein Vatankhah and Babak Aminshahidy EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: June 21, 2021
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Journal of Polymer Engineering
From the journal Journal of Polymer Engineering Volume 41 Issue 8

Abstract

MCM-41 and SBA-15 mesoporous silica materials with different pore sizes (3.08 nm for small pore size MCM-41 (P1), 5.89 nm for medium pore size SBA-15 (P2), and 7.81 nm for large pore size SBA-15 (P3)) were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and then functionalized with 3-aminopropyltrietoxysilane by postsynthesis treatments. Next, polysulfone-mesoporous silica mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by the solution casting method. The obtained materials and MMMs were characterized by various techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption-desorption, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method to examine the crystallinity, morphology, and particle size, pore volume, specific surface area, and pore size distribution, respectively. Finally, the gas permeation rates of prepared MMMs were measured in 8 bar and 25 °C and the effect of pore size of modified and unmodified mesoporous silica on the gas separation performance of these MMMs were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) permeability and CO2/CH4 selectivity were increased with an enhancement in the particle pore size.

Keywords: gas separation performance; mesoporous silica; mixed matrix membrane (MMM); polysulfone; pore size
Corresponding author: Babak Aminshahidy, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Azadi Square, PO Box 9177948974, Mashhad, Iran, E-mail:

Funding source: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Saberi from Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Bushehr branch of Islamic Azad University, for his kind assistance and suggestions during this research work.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: The authors would like to express their appreciation for the financial support received from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-02-19
Accepted: 2021-05-19
Published Online: 2021-06-21
Published in Print: 2021-09-27

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Material properties
  3. Investigation of the silica pore size effect on the performance of polysulfone (PSf) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for gas separation
  4. Understanding thermal and rheological behaviors of bimodal polymethyl methacrylate (BPMMA) fabricated via solution blending
  5. Kinetic study of the pyrolysis of polypropylene over natural clay
  6. Investigation of morphology and transport properties of Na+ ion conducting PMMA:PEO hybrid polymer electrolyte
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https://doi.org/10.1515/polyeng-2021-0055
Keywords for this article
gas separation performance; mesoporous silica; mixed matrix membrane (MMM); polysulfone; pore size

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Material properties
  3. Investigation of the silica pore size effect on the performance of polysulfone (PSf) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for gas separation
  4. Understanding thermal and rheological behaviors of bimodal polymethyl methacrylate (BPMMA) fabricated via solution blending
  5. Kinetic study of the pyrolysis of polypropylene over natural clay
  6. Investigation of morphology and transport properties of Na+ ion conducting PMMA:PEO hybrid polymer electrolyte
  7. Preparation and assembly
  8. Designing of new hydrophilic polyurethane using the graft-polymerized poly(acrylic acid) and poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl acrylate)
  9. Water-soluble polymeric particle embedded cryogels: Synthesis, characterisation and adsorption of haemoglobin
  10. Durable anti-oil-fouling superhydrophilic membranes for oil-in-water emulsion separation
  11. A facile route to dual-crosslinking polymeric hydrogels with enhanced mechanical property
  12. Antifouling enhancement of polyacrylonitrile-based membrane grafted with poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) layers
  13. Engineering and processing
  14. Non-isothermal blade coating analysis of viscous fluid with temperature-dependent viscosity using lubrication approximation theory
  15. In-mold lightweight integrating for structural/functional devices
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