Polymer approach to supported silica membranes

Polymeric silica sols were used to prepare membranes on commercial -Al₂O₃ supports with nominal support pore diameters of 4.0 nm. Aging of the silica sols was shown to be effective to form discrete membrane layers. He/N₂ selectivity factors exceeding ideal Knudsen values were observed when the sols were prepared under conditions in which the condensation rate was minimized. We propose that the average pore size of the membrane depends on the balance of capillary pressure and modulus during membrane deposition. The condensation rate might influence the breadth of the pore size distribution.