Investigation of the effect of functionalized carbon nanotube and graphene oxide in guar gum-based mixed matrix membrane for gas separation application

The present study deals with preparing mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), a new polysaccharide-based natural polymer used as a matrix with functionalized carbon nanotubes (FCNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) used as an inorganic filler. This work identified the effect of the inorganic fillers (FCNTs or GO) with naturally occurring polymer for gas separation. The incorporation of fillers improves the gas separation performance of MMMs. In GG/FCNTs MMMs, the selectivities of CO2/N-2 and CO2/H-2 were enhanced by 55.24% and 57.89%, respectively. Moreover, in GG/GO MMMs, the selectivities of CO2/N-2 and CO2/H-2 were improved by 99.50% and 50%, respectively. The membrane was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The SEM analysis of GG/GO MMMs reveals layered structure, and GG/FCNTs MMMs create passages to transport gases. The Universal testing machine (UTM) is used to analyze the mechanical properties of pristine and modified membranes.