Fabrication of a dual-layer ceramic mesoporous membrane with high flux via a co-sintering process

• Published in: Microporous and mesoporous materials Vol. 334; p. 111764
• Main Authors: Wen, Juanjuan, Qiu, Minghui, Chen, Xianfu, Da, Xiaowei, Fan, Yiqun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Ceramic membrane; Co-sintering; Sol separation; ZrO2 membrane; Ceramic membrane; Sol separation; ZrO2 membrane; Co-sintering
• ISSN: 1387-1811; 1873-3093
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2022.111764

The application of ceramic mesoporous membranes is mainly limited by the trade-off between separation performance and fabrication cost. Here, a co-sintering technique is employed to fabricate ZrO2 dual-layer ceramic mesoporous membranes with high separation precision and water permeance. Based on a coarse ceramic substrate, dual layers that could effectively decrease the fabrication cost and time were co-sintered. By doping zirconia nanoparticles in the sublayer, the sintering temperature could be decreased, and a high bonding strength was achieved between the dual layers. It is demonstrated that the permeance can be finely tuned by controlling the thickness of the sublayer. The resulting membrane exhibited a high water permeance of 280 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and a molecular weight cut-off of 40–50 kDa. The zirconia mesoporous membrane was employed for sol separation, affording a 100% rejection rate toward SiO2 nanoparticles. The cost-effective ZrO2 mesoporous membrane exhibits significant application potential for the separation of industrial SiO2 sols. [Display omitted] •A dual-layer ceramic mesoporous membrane was prepared by the co-sintering process.•ZrO2 nanoparticles were doped in the sublayer to increase the bonding strength of the membrane.•The resulting mesoporous membrane exhibited a 100% retention rate and highly stable permeance for SiO2 sol separation.