High-Temperature Ceramic Membranes via Photopolymerization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas separation membranes face limitations in thermal and chemical stability, selectivity, and operational temperature, making them unsuitable for high-temperature applications, particularly in industries like refining and power generation, where energy efficiency and cost reduction are critical.
Innovation Solution
The development of ceramic membranes via pyrolysis of a thin polymer film using a silazane oligomeric ceramic precursor and photopolymerizable comonomers, such as silazane and thiol, which are processed at low temperatures and then pyrolyzed to form amorphous and crystalline ceramic molecular sieve membranes with enhanced thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability, maintaining gas productivity and selectivity up to 1000°C.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If ceramic membranes are used for high temperature gas separation, then thermal stability and selectivity are improved, but fabrication difficulty and defect formation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fabrication parameters by using photopolymerization at low temperatures (below 100°C) to form defect-free membranes, followed by controlled pyrolysis at high temperatures (900-1100°C) to convert the polymer into ceramic. This parameter transformation allows achieving high operational temperature stability without the traditional fabrication difficulties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining organic photopolymerizable precursors with inorganic ceramic-forming components. The polymer-ceramic composite structure allows low-temperature processing during photopolymerization while maintaining the ability to form stable ceramic structures at high operating temperatures.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional ceramic fabrication methods are used, then thermal stability is improved, but operational temperature range is limited and selectivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves extended operational temperature range by controlling the pyrolysis parameters and ceramic precursor composition. The photopolymerized membrane structure provides a template that maintains integrity during pyrolysis, enabling the formation of ceramic membranes that can operate stably at temperatures up to 1000°C or higher.
3Ease of manufacture
If polymer membranes are used for gas separation, then ease of fabrication is improved, but operational temperature limit and thermal stability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by photopolymerizing the membrane at low temperatures to establish a defect-free, crosslinked polymer structure before converting it to ceramic. This preliminary polymerization step ensures uniform structure formation, which then templates the final ceramic structure during pyrolysis, achieving both ease of fabrication and high temperature stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transition by converting the photopolymerized organic structure into an inorganic ceramic phase through controlled pyrolysis. This phase transition from organic polymer to inorganic ceramic enables the membrane to achieve high thermal stability while maintaining the structural integrity established during low-temperature photopolymerization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of robust ceramic membranes with tailored separation characteristics, overcoming traditional fabrication challenges and achieving high temperature stability, selectivity, and energy efficiency, making them suitable for energy-intensive processes like hydrogen separation from carbon dioxide.
Implementation Method 1
Photopolymerizing comprises bombarding the thin film with one or more of ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation, and electron beam radiation
Implementation Method 2
pyrolyzing the photopolymerized thin film
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making ceramic membranes, and the ceramic membranes so formed, comprising combining a ceramic precursor with an organic or inorganic comonomer, forming the combination as a thin film on a substrate, photopolymerizing the thin film, and pyrolyzing the photopolymerized thin film.