γ-MnO2 nano-sieve membrane: preparation, characterization and reaction studies

Abstract γ-MnO 2 nano-sieve membrane was synthesized using γ-MnO 2 nanometer powders by suspending particles sintering method. The results of BET, AFM, and SEM indicate that γ-MnO 2 nano-sieve membrane with a thickness of about 2 μm is porous (pore size 4 nm), and has a smooth surface. The results of XRD and TPR exhibit that the phase transformation which can be suppressed at La/Mn = 0.15, and the activity of oxygen center of γ-MnO 2 nano-sieve membrane (La/Mn = 0.15) is slightly lower than that of γ-MnO 2 nanometer powders. γ-MnO 2 nano-sieve membrane shows a higher separation factor of H 2 /Ar in the range of 50–300 °C. In addition, the γ-MnO 2 nano-sieve membrane was applied to the membrane reactor for cyclohexane oxidative dehydrogenation, and the effect of temperature on cyclohexane conversion was investigated. The result shows that cyclohexane conversion in the γ-MnO 2 nano-sieve membrane reactor is higher than that in the conventional packed bed reactor.