High flux acetate functionalized silica membranes based on in-situ co-condensation for CO2/N2 separation

Acetate-functionalized silica membranes were prepared via co-condensation. The molar ratio of functional groups in the silica matrix was varied in the range of 0-0.6, denoted by x. The presence of functional groups bonded to the silica network was revealed by FTIR and 29Si and 13C solid-state NMR analysis. The stability of the groups was studied by TG analysis. The membranes were evaluated for CO2/N2 mixture separation in a temperature range of 253-373 K using a feed pressure of 9 bar and a sweep gas kept at atmospheric pressure on the permeate side. The membranes were found to be CO2-selective at all the conditions studied. The highest observed selectivity was 16 for x=0.4, with a CO2 permeance of 5.12×10−7 mol s−1 m−2 Pa−1. For x=0.2, a permeance of as high as 20.74×10−7 mol s−1 m−2 Pa−1 with a CO2/N2 selectivity of 7.5 was obtained. This permeance is the highest reported for CO2/N2 separation using functionalized silica membranes. It is proposed that the separation mechanism between CO2 and N2 was the preferential adsorption of CO2, which inhibited adsorption and permeation of N2 through the silica pore network. Permporometry results revealed that as the loading of functional groups increased, the He permeance decreased. It was also indicated that the quantity of micropores in the functionalized membrane was higher than that in the parent silica membrane.