Synergistic Effect of Combining Titanosilicate and 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Acetate in Mixed Matrix Membranes for Efficient C02 Separation

The novel mixed matrix membranes (MMM) were fabricated by incorporating microporous titanosilicate ETS-10 and a highly CO^sub 2^ absorbent ionic liquid, (EMIM)(Ac) into a Chitosan (CS) matrix to improve CO2 separation performance, and were prepared, characterized and tested for CO^sub 2^ and N^sub 2^. The solubility values show that the CO^sub 2^ solubility increases upon addition of ETS-10 particles. The N^sub 2^ solubility in the ETS-10/(EMIM)(Ac)/CS was reduced, while CO^sub 2^ solubility remained constant. FT-IR spectra revealed a good interaction between the components in the MMMs. Subtle differences in the intensity and position of all individual bands, were observed in the region between 3,600 and 2,700 cm^sup -1^ and 1,700 and 900 cm^sup -1^. These indicated bonding of the components in the film, confirming the good interaction existing among the components, and that may account for the higher flexibility of the hybrid membrane materials imparted to both CS and ETS-10/CS MMMs, due to the singular interaction between CS and (EMIM)(Ac).