Fabrication of gas-separating asymmetric ceramic membranes through combination of LB deposition of oligomeric or polymeric precursors and plasma treatment

Nanoporous, mesoporous and macroporous ceramic discs and tubes are used as substrates for the multilayer Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) deposition of fatty ac id salts, sesquioxane polymers and pitch products. The composites thus form ed are plasma-treated and fully ceramic asymmetric membranes are obtained. Permeability characterization suggests that the ultrathin top layer is a pr edominantly microporous material and, hence, the new membranes are consider ed appropriate for gas and vapor separations. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V . All rights reserved.