The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Microporous silicon dioxide/vycor membranes for gas separation
Author:	Barone, Justin R.
View Online:	njit-etd1997-041 (xii, 69 pages ~ 2.4 MB pdf)
Department:	Committee for the Interdisciplinary Program in Materials Science and Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Engineering Science
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Levy, Roland A. (Committee chair) Krasnoperov, Lev N. (Committee member) Grow, James M. (Committee member)
Date:	1997-01
Keywords:	Gas separation membranes. Chemical vapor deposition. Silicon dioxide films.
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	This study focused on producing membranes for molecular sieving of gases by reducing the pore size of an already existing membrane structure. To do this, SiO2 was deposited inside the pores of a Vycor tube with initial pore diameter of 4 nm. The film deposition took place by a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process where diethylsilane (DES) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were used as precursor gases. A counterflow reactant geometry was used where the precursor gases were flowed on both sides of the porous membrane. This deposition geometry gave higher selectivities and better mechanical stability. The flows of H2, He, N2, Ar, toluene, and dichloromethane (DCM) were monitored in-situ after each deposition. Selectivities on the order of 1000:1 were observed for H2 and He over N2. It was also shown that N2/toluene selectivities of 40:1 were also possible.