Fabrication of Polybenzimidazole/Palladium Nanoparticles Hollow Fiber Membranes for Hydrogen Purification

• Published in: Advanced energy materials Vol. 8; no. 3
• Main Authors: Villalobos, Luis Francisco, Hilke, Roland, Akhtar, Faheem Hassan, Peinemann, Klaus‐Viktor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 25.01.2018
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; CIPS; Hollow fiber membranes; hollow fibers; hydrogen recovery; Imidazole; Nanoparticles; Palladium; palladium nanoparticles; polybenzimidazole; Polybenzimidazoles
• ISSN: 1614-6832; 1614-6840
• DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201701567

A novel scheme to fabricate polybenzimidazole (PBI) hollow fiber membranes with a thin skin loaded with fully dispersed palladium nanoparticles is proposed for the first time. Palladium is added to the membrane during the spinning process in the form of ions that coordinate to the imidazole groups of the polymer. This is attractive for membrane production because agglomeration of nanoparticles is minimized and the high‐cost metal is incorporated in only the selective layer—where it is required. Pd‐containing membranes achieve three orders of magnitude higher H2 permeances and a twofold improvement in H2/CO2 selectivity compared to pure PBI hollow fiber membranes. Novel scheme to fabricate polybenzimidazole (PBI) hollow fibers with a thin skin loaded with palladium nanoparticles. Palladium is added to the membrane during the spinning process in the form of ions that coordinate to the polymer. Pd‐containing PBI membranes achieve three orders of magnitude higher H2 permeances and a twofold improvement in H2/CO2 selectivity compared to pure PBI hollow fibers.