TY  - JOUR
N2  - The polycarbonate membranes performances are improved by the incorporation of silica nanoparticles into the polymer matrix. Prepared PC/silica nanocomposite membranes with various silica content are considered and the experimental relative permeance of CO2 gas at 200 kPa (2 bar) feed pressure are used as reference in the predictions using the existing theoretical models such as Maxwell-Wagner-Sillar, Bruggeman, Lewis-Nielsen, Pal, and modified Pal models. TEM and BET analysis were used to characterize the silica nanoparticles; FESEM was used to characterize the morphology of the nanocomposite membranes. The TEM image of the silica nanoparticles reveals that the nanoparticles are mostly spherical. BET results reveal that the surface area and pore diameter of the silica nanoparticles are 618.8 m2/g and 0.28 nm, respectively. The existing models have resulted in poor predictions with errors AARE  of 26.52 to 28.02 . Observation by FESEM image shows that the dispersed particles are surrounded by interfacial voids and rigidified polymer layer. Modified Bruggeman models that consider the interfacial volume show appreciable prediction with AARE 4.59  being obtained with the pseudo-two-phase Bruggeman model. Moreover, when the model considered pseudo-three-phase morphology, the AARE  value reduced to 3.92 . Thus, the contribution due to the interfacial rigidified layer was minimal. © 2017 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering
IS  - 12
ID  - scholars8105
KW  - Carbon dioxide; Forecasting; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Polycarbonates; Silica
KW  -  Bruggeman model; Dispersed particle; Interfacial voids; Interfacial volumes; Nano-composite membranes; Polycarbonate membranes; Relative permeance; Silica nanoparticles
KW  -  Membranes
JF  - Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering
A1  - Idris, A.
A1  - Man, Z.
A1  - Maulud, A.S.
A1  - Uddin, F.
UR  - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85028376437&doi=10.1002%2fcjce.22933&partnerID=40&md5=d2b155d97c2f8a3649fafe00a63a1d40
VL  - 95
Y1  - 2017///
N1  - cited By 17
TI  - Modified Bruggeman models for prediction of CO2 permeance in polycarbonate/silica nanocomposite membranes
SP  - 2398
AV  - none
EP  - 2409
PB  - Wiley-Liss Inc.
SN  - 00084034
ER  -