GO as gutter layer in superglassy thin film composite membranes for enhanced gas separation

Boya Qiu, Ming Yu, Mustafa Alshurafa, Pablo López-Porfiri, Maria Perez-Page, Andrew B. Foster, Peter M. Budd, Xiaolei Fan, Patricia Gorgojo

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Polymers with intrinsic microporosity (PIM) have gathered considerable attention over the last two decades for fabricating high-performance membranes for CO2 separation, owing to their highly permeable and porous structures. Particularly, thin film composite (TFC) membranes with thin active layers (<5 μm) deposited onto more porous substrates are suitable for practical applications as they offer a combination of high permeance and mechanical strength. However, penetration of the active layer into the pores of the substrate leads to additional mass transfer resistance and creates defects and voids, thereby reducing the membrane's permeance and selectivity. Herein, we introduced graphene oxide (GO) as a gutter layer in TFCs made with PIM-1. GO flakes were deposited to cover the substrates partially, thereby reducing polymer penetration while maintaining good structural integrity of the TFCs. We successfully fabricated a series of PIM-1 TFCs by kiss coating, with the thinnest active layer at ∼179 nm. These TFCs exhibited an ideal selectivity for CO2/N2 of 44.4, and the CO2 permeance was increased by up to 104 % under optimised conditions. The strategy is generic as well which was validated using carboxylated PIM-1 (cPIM-1).

Original languageEnglish
Article number124245
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume732
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2025

Keywords

  • Gas separation
  • Graphene oxide
  • Gutter layers
  • Polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM)
  • Thin film composite membranes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Filtration and Separation

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