4 CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, we successfully fabricated tubular MXene/SS membranes on
commercial porous stainless steel substrates rapidly via electrophoretic
deposition. Filamentous CNTs were used as fillers for macroporous
substrates for the first time, which could effectively fill the big
holes only on the substrate surface and modify the surface flatness
without reducing the permeability of the substrate itself. After
optimizing the electrophoresis process, the tubular
MXene/SS2.5 membrane achieved excellent
H2/CO2 separation performance. The
corresponding H2/CO2 selectivity and
hydrogen permeance were 55 and 1290 GPU, respectively, and the membrane
showed outstanding long-term stability for up to 1250 h with good water
vapor stability. Moreover, the repeatability of membrane preparation had
also been adequately validated, where 93% of the membranes prepared in
one batch exceeded the DOE target, showing great potential for
industrial scale-up and practical application. Most importantly, this
work proposed a method for the efficient preparation of 2D MXene
nanosheet membranes on commercial tubular stainless steel substrates,
which provided a valuable reference for the preparation of other types
of 2D materials-based membranes. Furthermore, the work has also made
specific contributions to the large-scale fabrication of 2D MXene
membranes and the promotion of actual industrial applications.