surface modification of silica nano particles by graft polymerization of acrylamide and effect of the particles on the gas separation properties of Pebax membrane

The main problem in making MMMs is the uniform dispersion of particles in the matrix and the lack of proper adhesion between the particles and the polymer matrix. in this study, at first, the surface of silica was modified by graft polymerization of acrylamide and then these particles were used as filler in the Pebax membrane. Thus, in addition to improving the dispersion of particles in the polymer field, due to the interaction of CO2 gas with the functional groups of the particles, the permeability of this gas in the membrane increased. The best permeability performance of CO2, N2 and CH4 gases was related to the membrane containing 3% by weight of nanoparticles. According to the results, the permeability values increased by 34.4, 9.5, and 23.39%, respectively, compared to the pure membrane. The highest selectivity of CO2/N2 was related to the membrane containing 5% by weight of nanoparticles with an improvement percentage of 38.25 compared to the pure membrane.