Membrane Science and Technology

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Preparation and performance of CO2 plasma-modified Pebax/PDMS/PSf
thin-film composite membrane for CO2/N2 separation

Authors： WANG Yujie, YANG Fangfang，LI Nan，LIU Yiqun

Units： Sinopec ( Beijing ) Chemical Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing 100013, China

KeyWords： CO2 plasma modification; dip coating method; CO2 separation membrane; PDMS； Pebax

ClassificationCode：TQ028.8

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(3):1-12

Abstract：

To address the challenges of poor interfacial compatibility, delamination tendency, and surface defects in CO2 separation membrane, a polydimethylsiloxane/polysulfone (PDMS/PSf) substrate membrane was modified using CO2 plasma treatment technology, followed by dip-coating with a polyether block amide (Pebax-1657) solution to prepare thin-film composite (TFC) membrane. By such as CO2 plasma treatment power, treatment time, Pebax solution concentration, and dipping time, combined with characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle analysis，atomic force microscopy-nano infrared spectroscopy (AFM-Nano-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）for evaluation, the effects of fabrication conditions on membrane structure and separation performance were systematically investigated. CO2 plasma modification significantly enhanced surface roughness and reduced contact angle (from 115.3° to 55.6°). AFM-Nano-IR and XPS confirmed strengthened chemical bonding at the interface between PDMS and Pebax selective layer, enhancing interfacial compatibility. The Pebax/PDMS/PSf membrane under optimized conditions exhibited a continuous and defect-free layer, achieving CO2 permeance of 598~624 GPU and CO2/N2 ideal selectivity of 44~56. The integration of CO2 plasma modification and dip-coating enables efficient fabrication of high-performance Pebax/PDMS/PSf TFC membrane with a simple and scalable process, demonstrating promising potential for industrial-scale CO2 separation membrane development.

Funds：

新材料重大专项项目资助（2026ZD0621900）；企业项目“二氧化碳分离膜研发”（322003）

AuthorIntro：

第一作者简介：王玉杰（1980-），女，河北保定人，高级工程师，博士，研究方向为气体分离膜材料、分离膜制备与应用.*通讯作者，E-mail：liuyq.bjhy@sinopec.com

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