The influence of cations intercalated in graphene oxide membranes in tuning H₂/CO₂ separation performance

• Main Authors: Chuah, Chong Yang, Nie, Lina, Lee, Jong-Min, Bae, Tae-Hyun
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Chemical engineering; Graphene Oxide; Intercalation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/162018
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Graphene oxide (GO) laminate membranes of controlled interlayer spacing were synthesized for the investigation in H2/CO2 separation. The interlayer distance of GO flakes was tuned by crosslinking and intercalation of La3+ or Co2+ cations between GO layers. Investigation via field-emission scanning electron microscope showed that a continuous selective layer was present in the GO-La3+, GO-Co2+ and GO membranes. Gas permeation results revealed that the GO-La3+ membrane had better H2 permeability and H2/CO2 selectivity than the other membranes, due to an increase in d-spacing between the GO layers and restricted defect formation in the GO laminate membranes. In addition, the H2/CO2 separation performance of GO-La3+ membrane was found to be close to the upper bound limit of conventional polymer membranes established in 2008.