Membrane gas absorption (MGA), which is regarded as a cost-effective technique, is capable of efficiently capture CO₂. Several studies have been concentrated on enhancing membrane hydrophobicity to increase membrane stability in CO₂ capture throughout the long-term process of MGA. However, the quantity of CO₂ capture may still remain low due to the low CO2 absorption flux through the membrane. In this work, we aim to produce a CO₂-philic thin film on the membrane surface, which can improve CO2 absorption efficiency. In order to assess the performance of the membranes, two PVDF membranes (PVDF/EDA and PVDF/GO) were surface-coated with ethylenediamine (EDA) and graphene oxide (GO). According to the MGA results, the CO₂-philic thin film in PVDF/EDA and PVDF/GO membranes increased the CO₂ permeability, with CO₂ absorption fluxes of 0.106110^-1 and 0.104410^-1 mol/m²s respectively. Due to the fact that both membranes exhibit an increase in CO₂ absorption efficiency, a PVDF/EDA/GO membrane was prepared, with GO being deposited over the EDA-treated PVDF membrane. Unfortunately, because of the considerable pore size and surface porosity decrease covered by the GO, it showed lower CO₂ absorption flux than that of the pristine PVDF. However, the CO₂-philic thin film on membrane surface is still significant for boosting MGA, because the deposition of this functional thin film on the membrane surface do not cover the membrane pores, which remained in high porosity. 

Keywords: Asymmetric wetting; CO₂ capture; MGA

Dr. Low Siew Chun is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her research focuses on the development of membrane-based separation system. She has particular interest on understanding the fundamental transport phenomena across the thin film membrane and utilises the porous thin film to control the environmental pollution issues. Thus far, she has published 8 book chapters, more than 120 peer-reviewed journals papers with h-index of 22, i10-index of 53 and received more than 2100 cumulative citations according to Google Scholar. She has also attended more than 30 conference proceedings, including 2 keynote and 4 invited lectures. As regards to academic responsibility, she served as a journal reviewer (reviewed more than 200 manuscripts) for leading publishers such as Springer, ACS, RSC, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. Dr. Low is the section editor, editorial board member and guest editor for 8 WoS- and Scopus-indexed journals, including: Environmental Science and Pollution Research (Q2 WoS-indexed); Membranes (Q1 WoS-indexed); Frontiers of Chemical Science &Engineering (Q2 WoS-indexed); Journal of Physical Science (Scopus-indexed); ASM Science Journal (Scopus-indexed), and etc.