Hybrid polymer-based membranes with graphene oxide nanoparticles for carbon dioxide capture

The project focuses on the development of hybrid polymer/inorganic membranes with aligned nanoparticles within the polymeric matrix for CO2 separation membrane fabrication. The investigated polymer is the PEG3A, while the inorganic particles are the Graphene Oxide (GO). The addition of the GO nanoparticles is done due to a UV-light cross-linking reaction between the polymer, the polymer solvent and the solvent in which nanoparticles are dispersed in different concentration. The solvents used for the incorporation of GO into the membrane matrix are Water, Ethanol and Acetone since these fillers are considered non-toxic for human being. The membrane alignment is expected to improve the performance for CO2/N2 and CO2/He separation application which had been calculated by testing each membrane with the Single Gas Apparatus with the same operative condition. The compatibility of the polymers and nanoparticles will be characterized by using different techniques such as SEM, TGA and DSC, in order to develop the optimal hybrids for the carbon capture.