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Title: Fabrication of Hydrogen-Selective Silica Membranes via Pyrolysis of Vapor Deposited Polymer Films
Efficient separation of hydrogen under steam reforming conditions is important for the development of clean energy sources. Although high-temperature and steam-stable membranes with high fluxes and large separation factors would be valuable for such an application, their fabrication remains a challenge. Silicon-based ceramic membranes are particularly promising due to their high temperature resistance and excellent chemical stability. In this study, we propose a new synthetic route for fabricating nanoporous, asymmetric membranes via the pyrolysis of silicon-containing polymer films deposited by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) on macroporous silicon carbide supports. Specifically, we systematically investigated the change in the chemical structure of poly(2,4,6,8-tetravinyl-2,4,6,8-tetramethyl cyclotetrasiloxane) films at different pyrolysis temperatures and found that the complete transition to a silica membrane occurred at ~1100 °C. Three different supports composed of silicon carbide powders of varying sizes were tested for membrane preparation. It was found that membranes formed with our process were microporous with separation factors several times above the corresponding Knudsen factors. Our synthetic route, therefore, offers a scalable and solventless method for producing silicon-based ceramic membranes for high-temperature separation and sensor applications.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1705180
PAR ID:
10188056
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Industrial engineering chemistry research
Volume:
58
ISSN:
0888-5885
Page Range / eLocation ID:
15190-15198
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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