2D boron nitride nanosheets in PIM-1 membranes for CO2/CH4 separation

Physical aging represents one of the major obstacles towards adoption of polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) membranes for gas separation applications. In this work, mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) of 2D boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) and PIM-1 were prepared and applied in the separation of a CO2/CH4 (1:1, v:v) binary gas mixture. The membranes were tested over a period of more than one year to evaluate their anti-aging properties as compared to neat PIM-1. The results show that introducing BNNS into PIM-1 leads to a significant reduction in the physical aging of PIM-1, as demonstrated by the values of reduction in CO2 permeability after 414 days (22% for the MMMs as compared to 58% for neat PIM-1). This work paves the way to using PIM-based membranes in industry.