Pebax-Based Membrane Filled with Two-Dimensional Mxene Nanosheets for Efficient CO₂ Capture.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) combining inorganic fillers and polymers are key for gas separation.
• Developing advanced materials for efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) capture is crucial for environmental sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanosheets and incorporate them into a polyether-polyamide block copolymer (Pebax) matrix.
• To fabricate and characterize MXene/Pebax mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for enhanced CO2 capture.
• To evaluate the impact of MXene incorporation on membrane performance, including CO2 permeance and selectivity.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of 2D MXene nanosheets.
• Fabrication of MXene/Pebax mixed matrix membranes (MMMs).
• Systematic characterization of physicochemical properties of MXene nanosheets and the resulting membranes.
• Gas separation performance testing for CO2/N2 mixtures.

Main Results:

• The incorporation of MXene nanosheets created additional molecular transport pathways within the Pebax matrix.
• MXene introduction significantly enhanced the CO2 adsorption capacity of the membranes.
• The optimized MXene/Pebax membrane (0.15 wt% MXene) achieved a CO2 permeance of 21.6 GPU and a CO2/N2 selectivity of 72.5.

Conclusions:

• MXene nanosheets effectively improve both CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity in Pebax-based membranes.
• The developed MXene/Pebax MMMs demonstrate high separation performance, indicating strong potential for CO2 capture applications.
• This research offers a promising route for designing advanced membrane materials for carbon capture technologies.