(7c) Bioinspired Hybrid Membranes for Efficient CO2 Capture

Authors: Yifan Li, Shaofei Wang, Xueqin Li, Qingping Xin, Hong Wu, Zhongyi Jiang*

Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin); Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300072, P. R. China

[*]   Corresponding author and presenter: zhyjiang@tju.edu.cn

Abstract Hybrid membranes composed of continuous polymer phase and filler phase have been extensively explored for gas separation, including CO₂ capture. The multiphase characteristics of composite membranes render more degree of freedom to manipulate multiple interactions, tailor multiscale structures and integrate multiple functionalities, compared to pristine polymer membranes. However, the tradeoff effect between selectivity and permeability is a daunting challenge. Learning from nature is a shortcut for dealing with this challenge and designing new generation hybrid membrane. In this talk, several kinds of bioinspired hybrid membranes were designed and fabricated for CO₂ capture. On one hand, the ways living organisms employ to manipulate multiple interactions were borrowed to tailor hierarchical structures of hybrid membranes, especially for free volume characteristics. On the other hand, the selective transport mechanisms of cell membranes based on channel proteins and carrier proteins were imitated to confer high CO₂capture performance on membrane. We hope our efforts will offer new design alternatives for hybrid membranes, and foster the development of hybrid membranes for energy-related applications.

Key words Bioinspiration; hybrid membranes; CO₂ capture.