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Chitosan/polyvinylpyrrolidone‐silica hybrid membranes for pervaporation separation of methanol/ethylene glycol azeotrope
Author(s) -
Zhang Qiu Gen,
Hu Wen Wei,
Liu Qing Lin,
Zhu Ai Mei
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.39058
Subject(s) - pervaporation , azeotrope , membrane , materials science , chemical engineering , polyvinylpyrrolidone , permeation , methanol , polymer chemistry , crystallinity , thermal stability , sorption , ethylene glycol , chitosan , organic chemistry , chemistry , adsorption , composite material , biochemistry , distillation , engineering
Chitosan (CS)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)‐silica hybrid membranes are prepared to separate the methanol/ethylene glycol (EG) azeotrope. These hybrid membranes are formed in semi‐interpenetrating network structure at the molecular scale via sol‐gel reactions between CS and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The physico‐chemical property and morphology of the as‐prepared membranes are investigated in detail. They have lower crystallinity, higher thermal stability, and denser structure than the pristine CS membrane and its blending counterpart. The as‐prepared hybrid membranes demonstrate excellent performances and a great potential in pervaporation separation of methanol/EG. Silica‐hybridization depressed the swelling degree of membranes in the azeotrope, and remarkably enhanced methanol sorption selectivity. The membrane containing 7.77 wt % PVP and 14.52 wt % TEOS has a permeation flux of 0.119 kg m −2 h −1 and separation factor of 1899. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013