Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
633242 Journal of Membrane Science 2014 10 Pages PDF
Abstract

•A thin organosilica layer was deposited onto polymeric nanofiltration membranes.•This layered hybrid membrane was fabricated using a sol–gel spin-coating process.•These membranes were applied to vapor permeation dehydration of IPA/H2O mixtures.•The membranes showed an water flux of 2.3 kg/(m2 h) and separation factor of 2500.•The membranes showed an improved gas separation performance for H2/N2 (≈26).

In this study a new type of layered hybrid membrane was fabricated. This new membrane consisted of a thin organically bridged silica separation layer deposited onto the surface of a flexible polymeric membrane, NTR-7450 (Nitto Denko, Japan), and was comprised of a sulfonated polyethersulfone top layer and a porous polysulfone support. Using 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTESE) as a precursor, a continuous and defect-free BTESE separation layer was deposited onto the surface of a polymeric nanofiltration membrane via a facile, reproducible and scalable sol–gel spin-coating and low-temperature curing process. First, the optimal preparation conditions were established, which included the curing temperature and the spin-coating cycles. The membranes were then used for the vapor permeation dehydration of isopropanol-water solutions, and showed a stable water flux of 2.3 kg/(m2 h) and an improved separation factor of about 2500, which was an increase of approximately 5-fold compared with that of a polymeric nanofiltration membrane. In addition, single-gas permeance through this membrane was also discussed and a modest H2/N2 selectivity of 26 was obtained, which approximated the performance of ceramic-supported BTESE-derived silica membranes.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Chemical Engineering Filtration and Separation
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