Effect of heat cross-linking on carbon dioxide fixed-carrier membrane structure and performance

A new fixed-carrier composite membrane prepared with poly(N-vinyl-γ-sodium aminobutyrate) (PVSA) as the active layer and a polysulfone (PS) ultrafiltration membrane as the support was previously reported. In order to improve the permselectivity and stability, the PVSA/PS composite membrane was modified by using heat cross-linking. Cross-linked PVSA/PS composite membranes possess higher selectivity, a slightly lower CO2 permeation rate and better stability than uncross-linked membranes. The cross-linking mechanism was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effect of cross-linking time on the performance of the composite membrane was also investigated.