Polyimide mixed matrix membranes for CO2 separations using carbon-silica nanocomposite fillers

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have a potential to improve the separation performance of polymeric membranes while maintaining their advantages of easy processing and lower costs. In this work, series of MMMs were developed via solution casting by adding porous carbon-silica nanocomposite (CSM) fillers to a readily available Matrimid® membrane. CSMs were prepared by a hard template synthesis technique to get a tuneable porosity and surface chemistry which is controlled by the optimization of the filler porosity using carbon deposition, the pyrolysis conditions, and the maximization of polarity via oxygen functional groups. SEM images of the synthesized MMMs confirmed the good adhesion and dispersion of the fillers within the polymer matrix. The separation results demonstrate that the overall separation efficiency is increased by the addition of a carbon phase, providing an increased affinity for the CO2 gas molecules next to the creation of extra porosity and free volume. It was showed that significantly improved CO2 mixed gas selectivity and permeability for CO2:N2 and CO2:CH4 gas mixtures at 9 bar and 308 K was achieved. For gas mixtures with a 50:50 (CO2:N2) feed composition, a 2-fold and 6-fold increase of the mixed gas selectivity (up to 42.5) and permeability (up to 27 Barrer) compared to unfilled PI was achieved, respectively. The performance of the membranes was compared to the existing literature data.