Infiltrated glassy carbon membranes in γ-Al2O3 supports

A new infiltrated microporous membrane without defects has been obtained. For that, a microporous glassy carbon (GC) membrane was infiltrated inside the mesoporous structure of a γ-Al2O3 support with 70% of porosity. GC material was formed after carbonisation of a phenolic resin which is deposited on the inner face of a tubular ceramic multilayer system. This consists of a cordierite support, an intermediate layer of α-Al2O3 and a γ-Al2O3 top layer. Textural properties of the unsupported GC membrane were determined by CO2 adsorption at 273 K and inmersion calorimetry employing organic solvents with different molecular dimensions. The sequence of the GC deposition in γ-Al2O3 support was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The final infiltrated membrane system was studied by N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms at 77 K and gas permeation measurements.