Polymer-inorganic composites based on Celgard matrices obtained using solutions of (aminopropyl)triethoxysilane in supercritical carbon dioxide
A method has been developed for the fabrication of a polymer-inorganic composite material based on the Celgard polymer matrix by means of the introduction of silica nanoparticles with amino groups into the polymer structure through impregnation of porous structure with solutions of the aminosilane precursor in supercritical СO2. The presence of inorganic nanoparticles made it possible to noticeably enhance the hydrophilicity of the material, and the absolute wetting ability of supercritical CO2 was favorable for uniform particle distribution in membrane pores. The particles growing in membrane pores allowed one to reduce the pore size, which opens ways to control ion-transport selectivity.