Air plasma assisted spray coating of Pebax-1657 thin-film composite membranes for post-combustion CO2 capture

Nanofilm Composite Membranes of Bottlebrush Poly(1,3-Dioxolane) Plasticized by Poly(Ethylene Glycol) for CO2/N2 Separation

Poly(1,3-dioxolane) has emerged as a leading membrane material for post-combustion CO2 capture due to its high ether oxygen content and strong affinity toward CO2. However, they are often cross-linked to inhibit crystallization, which makes them impossible to fabricate into industrial thin-film composite membranes. Herein, soluble and high molecular weight bottlebrush polymers (bPDXLA) are synthesized using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization and demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating nanofilm (≈100 nm) composite membranes (NCMs). Furthermore, bPDXLA can be plasticized using a miscible additive of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDME) to improve CO2 permeability while retaining good CO2/N2 selectivity. For example, adding 20 mass% PEGDME improves CO2 permeance from 930 to 1300 GPU and decreases CO2/N2 selectivity from 74 to 53 at 25 °C; the membrane exhibits stable separation performance competitive with state-of-the-art commercial membranes. This work unveils a practical approach to designing uncross-linked, highly polar polymers for practical membrane gas separation and highlights a facile way to enhance performance by incorporating miscible plasticizers using industrial manufacturing processes.

Material Aspects of Thin-Film Composite Membranes for CO2/N2 Separation: Metal-Organic Frameworks vs. Graphene Oxides vs. Ionic Liquids

Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes containing various fillers and additives present an effective alternative to conventional dense polymer membranes, which often suffer from low permeance (flux) and the permeability-selectivity tradeoff. Alongside the development and utilization of numerous new polymers over the past few decades, diverse additives such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), graphene oxides (GOs), and ionic liquids (ILs) have been integrated into the polymer matrix to enhance performance. However, achieving desirable interfacial compatibility between these additives and the host polymer matrix, particularly in TFC structures, remains a significant challenge. This review discusses recent advancements in TFC membranes for CO2/N2 separation, focusing on material structure, polymer-additive interaction, interface and separation properties. Specifically, we examine membranes operating under dry conditions to clearly assess the impact of additives on membrane properties and performance. Additionally, we provide a perspective on future research directions for designing high-performance membrane materials.

Carbon Dioxide Capture by Emerging Innovative Polymers: Status and Perspectives

A significant amount of research has been conducted in carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, particularly over the past decade, and continues to evolve. This review presents the most recent advancements in synthetic methodologies and CO2 capture capabilities of diverse polymer-based substances, which includes the amine-based polymers, porous organic polymers, and polymeric membranes, covering publications in the last 5 years (2019-2024). It aims to assist researchers with new insights and approaches to develop innovative polymer-based materials with improved capturing CO2 capacity, efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effective, thereby addressing the current obstacles in carbon capture and storage to sooner meeting the net-zero CO2 emission target.

Membrane Separation Technology in Direct Air Capture

Direct air capture (DAC) is an emerging negative CO2 emission technology that aims to introduce a feasible method for CO2 capture from the atmosphere. Unlike carbon capture from point sources, which deals with flue gas at high CO2 concentrations, carbon capture directly from the atmosphere has proved difficult due to the low CO2 concentration in ambient air. Current DAC technologies mainly consider sorbent-based systems; however, membrane technology can be considered a promising DAC approach since it provides several advantages, e.g., lower energy and operational costs, less environmental footprint, and more potential for small-scale ubiquitous installations. Several recent advancements in validating the feasibility of highly permeable gas separation membrane fabrication and system design show that membrane-based direct air capture (m-DAC) could be a complementary approach to sorbent-based DAC, e.g., as part of a hybrid system design that incorporates other DAC technologies (e.g., solvent or sorbent-based DAC). In this article, the ongoing research and DAC application attempts via membrane separation have been reviewed. The reported membrane materials that could potentially be used for m-DAC are summarized. In addition, the future direction of m-DAC development is discussed, which could provide perspective and encourage new researchers' further work in the field of m-DAC.

Breaking The Permeance-Selectivity Tradeoff for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture: A Bio-Inspired Strategy to Form Ultrathin Hollow Fiber Membranes

Thin film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membranes with ultrathin selective layer are desirable to maximize the gas permeance for practical applications. Herein, a bio-inspired strategy is proposed to fabricate sub-100-nm membranes via a tree-mimicking polymer network with amphipathic components featuring multifunctionalities. The hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) brushes act as the roots that can strongly cling to the gutter layer, the PDMS crosslinkers function as the xylems to enable fast gas transport, and the hydrophilic ethylene-oxide moieties (brushes and mobile molecules) resemble tree leaves that selectively attract CO2 molecules. As a result, a ≈27 nm-thick selective layer can be attached to the hollow fiber-supported PDMS gutter layer through a simple dip-coating method without any modification. Furthermore, a CO2 permeance of ≈2700 GPU and a CO2 /N2 selectivity of ≈21 that is beyond the permeance-selectivity upper bound for hollow fiber membranes is achieved. This bio-inspired concept can potentially open the possibility of scalable hollow fiber membranes production for commercial applications in post-combustion carbon capture and beyond.