The novel composite membranes containing chloride and acid functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube fillers for gas separation

Abstract

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were synthesized by PMP (4-methyl-1-pentene) polymeric base with acid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (AFMCNT) and chlorine functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CFMCNT). Various weight percentages of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (FMCNTs) were loaded in MMMs. The MMMs were characterized by infrared Fourier transmission spectrum (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Analyzing the results of X-ray diffraction on membranes containing functional carbon nanotubes suggests the greater effect of chlorinated functionalized nanotubes on polymeric matrix of poly (4-methyl-1-pentene) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Eventually, the transferability and selectivity results suggested that adding FMCNTs to all loading percentages increased the selectivity of all gas pairs including CO2/CH4, O2/N2 and CO2/N2. Additionally, the permeability of membranes such as AFMCNTs was higher than membranes with CFMCNTs ones. In addition, the selectivity of the membranes is increased in higher loading percentage by as much as 20\u2009~\u200940% at the expense of permeability.