Preparation and characterization of polyimide membrane impregnated with silver nanoparticles for gas separation

P84 polyimide is one of the preferred materials to form membrane due to its high selectivity and excellent anti-plasticization properties against carbon dioxide. Silver nanoparticle has been gaining popularity due to its antimicrobial ability. Hence, this study investigated the effects of silver nanoparticle on the performance of P84 polyimide membrane. The membrane was fabricated with silver nanoparticles impregnated into it. The results of the experiment showed that with silver nanoparticles impregnated into the membrane, the permeability of the membrane increased with the amount of silver nanoparticles added. However, this came with the cost of a lower selectivity of the membrane. The possible explanation to this result would be that the silver nanoparticles formed a microporous structure within the membrane. These interfaces between the silver nanoparticles and the polymer membrane allowed the gas molecules to pass through the membrane faster. In this experiment, the membrane with 3% of silver nanoparticles was found to have the best performance as it had the best trade-off of permeability and selectivity.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering