Blending of TiO 2 nanoparticles with cellulose acetate polymer: to study the effect on morphology and gas permeation of blended membranes

Cellulose acetate–titania (CA–TiO 2 ) nanoparticles blended membranes were fabricated using diffusion‐induced phase separation process to observe the effect of inorganic nanofillers on the surface topography and gas permeation properties of CA membrane. Self‐synthesized TiO 2 nanoparticles using sol gel reflux condensation were employed as nanofillers, which is the anatase phase of TiO 2 with crystallite size of 5–10 nm. The synthesized membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy techniques to study the nanoscale distribution of TiO 2 nanoparticles, surface roughness, and pores generation in blended membranes, with increasing nanoparticles' concentration in polymer matrix. The permeability of CO 2 was found to be increased for CA–TiO 2 blended membranes. The CO 2 /CH 4 selectivity up to 23.3 was documented. © 2014 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.