Sol–gel routes for microporous zirconia and titania membranes

Zirconia and titania nanoparticle sols were prepared, using either ligand-based precursor stabilization or acid stabilization routes. These sols were used to prepare microporous coatings on γ-alumina substrates. The acetylacetonate-based particles have very small hydrodynamic diameters (1–2 nm), which lead to sol intrusion into the supports. As a result no appropriate membrane layer was formed. A microemulsion-based zirconia sol leads to a membrane that was selective in pervaporation dehydration of a water/n-butanol mixture. An optimized membrane showed stable separation performance for 120 days with a high selectivity toward water. Permporometry and gas permeation results on a titania membrane based on an acid-stabilized sol not only show microporosity, but also a significant contribution from defect flow.