Method of Making Polymer Functionalized Molecular Sieve/Polymer Mixed Matrix Membranes
First Claim
1. A method of making a void free and defect free first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer mixed matrix membrane comprising:
- (a) dispersing molecular sieve particles in a mixture of two or more organic solvents to form a molecular sieve slurry;
(b) dissolving a first polymer in the molecular sieve slurry to form a first polymer functionalized molecular sieve slurry, wherein said first polymer is used to functionalize the outer surface of the molecular sieve particles via covalent or hydrogen bonds;
(c) dissolving a second polymer in said first polymer functionalized molecular sieve slurry to form a stable first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer suspension, wherein said second polymer becomes a continuous second polymer matrix for said void free and defect free first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer mixed matrix membrane and wherein said first polymer and said second polymer are different polymers; and
(d) fabricating a void free and defect free first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer mixed matrix membrane using the stable first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer suspension.
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a method of making polymer functionalized molecular sieve/polymer mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) with either no macrovoids or voids of less than several Angstroms at the interface of the polymer matrix and the molecular sieves by incorporating polyethersulfone (PES) or cellulose triacetate (CTA) functionalized molecular sieves into a continuous polyimide or cellulose acetate polymer matrix. The MMMs, particularly PES functionalized AlPO-14/polyimide MMMs and CTA functionalized AlPO-14/CA MMMs have good flexibility and high mechanical strength, and exhibit significantly enhanced selectivity and/or permeability over the polymer membranes made from the corresponding continuous polymer matrices for carbon dioxide/methane (CO2/CH4), hydrogen/methane (H2/CH4), and propylene/propane separations. The MMMs are suitable for a variety of liquid, gas, and vapor separations such as deep desulphurization of gasoline and diesel fuels, ethanol/water separations, pervaporation dehydration of aqueous/organic mixtures, CO2/CH4, CO2/N2, H2/CH4, O2/N2, olefin/paraffin, iso/normal paraffins separations, and other light gas mixture separations.
36 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of making a void free and defect free first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer mixed matrix membrane comprising:
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(a) dispersing molecular sieve particles in a mixture of two or more organic solvents to form a molecular sieve slurry; (b) dissolving a first polymer in the molecular sieve slurry to form a first polymer functionalized molecular sieve slurry, wherein said first polymer is used to functionalize the outer surface of the molecular sieve particles via covalent or hydrogen bonds; (c) dissolving a second polymer in said first polymer functionalized molecular sieve slurry to form a stable first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer suspension, wherein said second polymer becomes a continuous second polymer matrix for said void free and defect free first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer mixed matrix membrane and wherein said first polymer and said second polymer are different polymers; and (d) fabricating a void free and defect free first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer mixed matrix membrane using the stable first polymer functionalized molecular sieve/second polymer suspension. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification