Synthesis and characterization of SAPO-5 membranes on porous α-Al2O3 substrates

The continuous and highly intergrown SAPO-5 membrane on the α-Al2O3 substrate was synthesized by using in situ crystallization and microwave heating. According to the characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the 5 μm-thick membrane was composed of well-intergrown pure SAPO-5 crystals, which were tightly covered on the α-Al2O3 substrate in random orientation. The single-component pervaporation measurements revealed the resulting membrane was of high-quality with few non-zeolitic pores.