Gas permeation through polyethylene glycol/polytetramethylene glycol based polyurethane–silica mixed matrix membranes and interfacial morphology study via modeling approach

Afsaneh Fakhar*, Mohammadmahdi Zarabadipoor, Mohammad Mehdi Talakesh, Morteza Sadeghi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A series of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) based on polyurethane (PU) and silica nanoparticles was fabricated. Three types of PU were synthesized with different polyethylene glycol (PEG)/polytetramethylene glycol ratios (PU0, PU75, and PU100, the corresponding numbers: PEG percent). The MMMs were characterized using FTIR, SEM, and gas permeation measurements (N2, O2, CH4, and CO2). The phase mixing of PU0 and PU75 membranes increased with silica content. This resulted in a decrease in gas permeability, while an increase in CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivities. The gas separation trend for PU100 membranes was the opposite. The molecular probing approach was served to study the interfacial structure of the MMMs. The existence of a rigidified polymer layer with 2.38 and 2.44 nm thicknesses around silica was revealed through PU0 and PU75 membranes, respectively. In contrary, silica was surrounded by a polymer chain dilution interphase with a thickness of 2.20 nm for PU100 MMMs.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere53831
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Applied Polymer Science
Volume140
Issue number19
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2023

Keywords

  • gas separation
  • interfacial morphology
  • mixed matrix membrane
  • molecular probing approach
  • polyurethane
  • silica

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