Fabrication of a sol-gel derived microporous zirconia membrane for nanofiltration

Hong Qi, Guizhi Zhu, Li Li, Nanping Xu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper reports the fabrication and nanofiltration properties of a sol-gel derived microporous zirconia membrane. Effects of synthesis parameters, including hydrolysis time, hydrolysis temperature, hydrolysis ratio and chelating agent dopant, on the state and size of polymeric zirconia sol, were investigated. Highly reproducible and stable zirconia sol after refluxing at 40 °C for 180 min, with an average particle size of approximately 8.6 nm, was synthesized with a recipe of [Zirconium n-propoxide]: [Diethanolamine]: [1-propanol]: [H 2O] being 1: 2.2: 28.7: 9.4 (in molar ratio). The sol was subsequently used for the fabrication of microporous ZrO 2 membranes onto alumina supported mesoporous γ-Al 2O 3 layers. ZrO 2 membranes with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 354, 1,195, corresponding to the pore size of 0.94 and 1.75 nm, were successfully fabricated. Ionic retention properties of such ZrO 2 membranes with respect to electrolyte solutions, like MgCl 2, CaCl 2, NaCl and Na 2SO 4, were also determined. Effects of parameters such as concentration of salt solutions and trans-membrane pressure on retention rates of microporous ZrO 2 membranes were studied in detail. Results showed that zirconium n-propoxide derived microporous ZrO 2 membranes exhibited comparatively high retention rates towards divalent ions like Mg 2+ and Ca 2+, while much lower retention rates were observed for mono-valent ion (Na +) in the present study, which are the characteristics of nanofiltration membranes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)208-216
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology
Volume62
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2012

Keywords

  • Diethanolamine
  • Microporous membrane
  • Nanofiltration
  • Sol-gel
  • Zirconia

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