Pushing Rubbery Polymer Membranes To Be Economic for CO2 Separation: Embedment with Ti3C2Tx MXene Nanosheets

Sustainable and energy-efficient molecular separation requires membranes with high gas permeability and selectivity. This work reports excellent CO2 separation performance of self-standing and thin-film mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) fabricated by embedding 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets in Pebax-1657. The CO2/N2 and CO2/H2 separation performances of the free-standing membranes are above Robeson's upper bounds, and the performances of the thin-film composite (TFC) membranes are in the target area for cost-efficient CO2 capture. Characterization and molecular dynamics simulation results suggest that the superior performances of the Pebax-Ti3C2Tx membranes are due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between Ti3C2Tx and Pebax chains, leading to the creation of the well-formed galleries of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets in the hard segments of the Pebax. The interfacial interactions and selective Ti3C2Tx nanochannels enable fast and selective CO2 transport. Enhancement of the transport properties of Pebax-2533 and polyurethane when embedded with Ti3C2Tx further supports these findings. The ease of fabrication and high separation performance of the new TFC membranes point to their great potential for energy-efficient CO2 separation with the low cost of $29/ton separated CO2.