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Preparation and high oxygen‐enriching properties of cross‐linking polydimethylsiloxane/ SiO 2 nanocomposite membranes for air purification
Author(s) -
Rao Huaxin,
Zhang Ziyong,
Tian Ye
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.13860
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , membrane , polydimethylsiloxane , chemical engineering , permeation , materials science , oxygen permeability , oxygen , copolymer , sol gel , solvent , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , polymer , nanotechnology , composite material , biochemistry , engineering
Nanocomposite membrane based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and nanoscale SiO 2 particles were prepared by a convenient and mild sol–gel copolymerization of tetraethoxysilane as well as cross‐linking reaction. The oxygen‐enriching properties of cross‐linking PDMS/SiO 2 nanocomposite membranes containing different silica conversion and SiO 2 contents were investigated. The results showed that the nanocomposite membranes exhibited good membrane‐forming ability, superior mechanical properties, and high solvent resistance as well as excellent oxygen‐enriching properties for air purification. The oxygen‐enriching performance was regulated by the organic/inorganic ratio and silica conversion in the sol–gel synthesis process. Permeability and selectivity could increase simultaneously with the addition of nanoscale SiO 2 . The oxygen permeation coefficient of the nanocomposite membrane increased to 680 Barrer and oxygen/nitrogen separation factor kept 3.0 or so, both higher than those of the corresponding pure PDMS membrane. The high oxygen‐enriching properties of the nanocomposite membranes arose from the introduction of SiO 2 particles, the sol–gel copolymerization, and cross‐linking method. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 650–655, 2013