Ceramic proton-conducting membranes
AssigneeUniversity of Washington
InventorsLilo D. Pozzo, Anthony William Moretti, Gregory M. Newbloom, Aaron West, Eden Rivers
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are ceramic selective membranes and methods of forming the ceramic selective membranes by forming a selective silica ceramic on a porous membrane substrate. Representative ceramic selective membranes include ion-conductive membranes (e.g., proton-conducting membranes) and gas selective membranes. Representative uses for the membranes include incorporation into fuel cells and redox flow batteries (RFB) as ion-conducting membranes.
Claims29
A method of forming a ceramic selective membrane, the method comprising:
- impregnating an edge portion of a porous membrane substrate with a compressible polymer to provide a porous membrane substrate with an impregnated edge;
- applying a ceramic precursor sol to the porous membrane substrate with an impregnated edge;
- and
- gelling the ceramic precursor sol, using a sol-gel process, to form a selective silica ceramic from the ceramic precursor sol, thereby providing a ceramic selective membrane comprising the selective silica ceramic supported by the porous membrane substrate;
- wherein the ceramic precursor sol comprises an alkaline silicate solution;
- wherein the porous membrane substrate has a plurality of pores 10 nm or greater in diameter;
- wherein gelling the ceramic precursor sol comprises non-hydrolyzing chemical gelation in an aqueous environment;
- wherein gelling the ceramic precursor sol comprises exposing to a temperature in the range of 20° C. to 100° C.;
- wherein the ceramic selective membrane comprises pores in the size range of 0.1 nm to 10 nm in diameter;
- and
- wherein the ceramic selective membrane has a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 1 mm.
A ceramic selective membrane, comprising:
- a selective silica ceramic coating supported by a porous membrane substrate;
- and
- a compressible polymer edging along at least a portion of an edge of the porous membrane substrate;
- wherein the porous membrane substrate has a plurality of pores 10 nm or greater in diameter;
- wherein the ceramic selective membrane comprises pores in the size range of 0.1 nm to 10 nm in diameter;
- wherein the selective silica ceramic coating has one or more layers of selective silica ceramic material formed by non-hydrolyzing chemical gelation of a precursor sol comprising an alkaline silicate solution;
- wherein the ceramic selective membrane has a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to 1 mm;
- and
- wherein the selective silica ceramic has a thickness of 0.5 μm to 750 μm disposed on the surface of the porous membrane substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.