Project Info
Nanoscale engineering of ceramic supports for high performance membrane development
Project Goals and Description:
Ceramic supports are critical to the fabrication of both dense metal and surface diffusion membranes of interest for high temperature hydrogen purification. These membranes can be used to separate hydrogen from gas mixtures at elevated temperatures as stand-alone membranes or as an integral part of a membrane reactor that combines reaction and separation functions into a single unit operation. The morphology (pore size, porosity) is critical to their performance. The morphology of commercially available supports is limited and not ideal for these applications. In this project we will use selective atomic layer deposition to create asymmetric supports with tunable morphology for the desired application. These engineered supports will then be utilized to form dense metallic membranes and surface diffusion membranes.
More Information:
Palladium membrane mini review: SPT_Pd_AccuSep_PdAu_PdAg.pdf
Surface diffusion H2 membrane: Uemiya_Pt_Grp_Porous_AIChEJ_1997.pdf
Membrane reactor to produce H2 via NH3 decomposition: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376738821010875?via=ihub
Primary Contacts:
Student Preparation
Qualifications
The student should be a chemist or chemical engineer that has successfully completed organic and ideally physical chemistry.
TIME COMMITMENT (HRS/WK)
SKILLS/TECHNIQUES GAINED
The student will learn advanced laboratory techniques including atomic layer deposition, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE), X-ray diffraction and membrane performance characterization. The student will also learn data analysis and presentation skills through weekly group meetings.
MENTORING PLAN
The student will be mentored primarily by the lead PhD student as far as lab training and participate in weekly group meetings with the full team.