Functionalized Pd-decorated and aligned MWCNTs in polycarbonate as a selective membrane for hydrogen separation

In this work, gas permeability of composite membranes of Polycarbonate (PC) and Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with different approaches have been examined. Effect of MWCNTs alignment in PC matrix for gas permeability as well as selectivity was explored. It has been observed that PC membranes having aligned MWCNTs have higher permeability for all gases as compared to randomly oriented MWCNTs. For improving the selectivity further, functionalized MWCNTs with Pd nanoparticles were dispersed in PC and found more selective towards hydrogen than other gases due to absorption of H2 in Pd nanoparticles. These composite membranes were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for confirmation of functionalization and distribution of MWCNTs in PC matrix.