Nanocomposite Membranes of Silica and Polysulfone for Improved Gas Permeation

Abstract

Polysulfone-Silica mixed matrix hybrid membranes have been prepared by incorporating silicon dioxide nanoparticles with average particle size of 136 nm. Two types of polysulfone-silica nanocomposite membranes were prepared by solution casting and solvent evaporation method to study the permeation of CO2 and N2 gases. Barrier properties were investigated as a function of nanoparticle composition for pure gases. SEM testing reveals that such composites have higher bounding with the polymeric matrix. Gas permeation measurements demonstrate that these materials show notable differences in gas separation efficiency, especially for the enrichment of nitrogen (N2) from carbon dioxide (CO2).