Fabrication of CeO₂/carbon molecular sieving membranes for enhanced O₂/N₂ gas separation

In this study, CeO2/carbon composite molecular sieving membranes (CMSMs) were prepared on carbonaceous plate supports using polyimide as precursor and cerium oxide (CeO2) as fillers via spin-coating method and pyrolysis. The microstructure and properties of CMSMs were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, particle size distribution and gas permeation test. The influence of the filler amount of CeO2 on the microstructure and performance of CMSMs was mainly investigated. The results showed that the incorporation of CeO2 significantly enhanced the graphitization degree and structural compactness of CMSMs. The optimal gas separation performance of CMSMs reaches to 16.3 for O2/N2 selectivity and 240.3 Barrer for O2 permeability, which is fabricated by the precursor containing CeO2 content of 0.2 % under the permeation condition of 30 degrees C and 0.02 MPa.