Preparation of a zeolite-palladium composite membrane for hydrogen separation:Influence of zeolite film on membrane stability

With the development of hydrogen energy,palladium-based membranes have been widely used in hydrogen separation and purification.However,the poor chemical stability of palladium composite membranes limits their commercial applications.In this study,a zeolite-palladium composite membrane with a sandwich-like structure was obtained by using a TS-1 zeolite film grown on the surface of palladium membrane.The membrane microstructure was characterized by SEM and EDX.The effects of the TS-1 film on the hydrogen permeability and stability of palladium composite membrane were investigated in details.Benefited from the protection of the TS-1 zeolite film,the stability of palladium composite membrane was enhanced.The results indicate that the TS-1-Pd composite membrane was stable after eight cycles of the temperature exchange cycles between 773 K and 623 K.Especially,the loss of hydrogen permeance for TS-1-Pd composite membrane was much smaller than that of the pure palladium membrane when the membrane was tested in the presence of C3H6atmosphere.It indicated that the TS-1-Pd composite membrane had better chemical stability in comparison with pure palladium membrane,owing to its sandwich-like structure.This work provides an efficient way for the deposition of zeolite film on palladium membrane to enhance the membrane stability.

Detection of CO2 and O2 by iron loaded LTL zeolite films

Detection of oxygen and carbon dioxide is important in the field of chemical and biosensors for atmosphere and biosystem monitoring and fermentation processes. The present study reports on the preparation of zeolite films doped with iron nanoparticles for detection of CO2 and O2 in gas phase. Pure nanosized LTL type zeolite with monomodal particle size distribution loaded with iron （Fe-LTL） was prepared under hydrothermal condition from colloidal precursor suspensions. The zeolite was loaded with iron to different levels by ion exchange. The Fe-LTL suspensions were used for preparation of thin films on silicon wafers via spin coating method. The reduction of the iron in the zeolite films was carried out under H2 flow （50% H2 in Ar） at 300 ℃. The presence of iron nanoparticles is proved by in situ ultra-violet-visible spectroscopy. The properties of the films including surface roughness, thickness, porosity, and mechanical stability were studied. In addition, the loading and distribution of iron in the zeolite films were investigated. The Fe-LTL zeolite films were used to detect O2 and CO2 in a concentration dependent mode, followed by IR spectroscopy. The changes in the IR bands at 855 and 642 cm^-1 （Fe O-H and Fe-O bending vibrations） and at 2363 and 2333 cm^-1 （CO2 asymmetric stretching） corresponding to the presence of O2 and CO2, respectively, were evaluated. The response to O2 and CO2 was instant, which was attributed to great accessibility of the iron in the nanosized zeolite crystals. The saturation of the Fe-LTL films with CO2 and O2 at each concentration was reached within less than a minute. The Fe-LTL films detected both oxygen and carbon dioxide in contrast, to the pure LTL zeolite film.

Enhancement of catalytic and anti-carbon deposition performance of SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz films in MTA reaction by Si/Al ratio regulation

In order to further improve the catalytic performance of zeolite catalyst for methanol to aromatics(MTA)technology, the double-tier SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz composite zeolite films were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal crystallization. The Si/Al ratio of SAPO-34 film was used as the only variable to study this material. The composite zeolite material with 0.6Si/Al ratio of SAPO-34 has the largest mesoporous specific surface area and the most suitable acid distribution. The catalytic performance for the MTA process showed that 0.6-SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz film has as high as 50.3% benzene-toluenexylene selectivity and 670 min lifetime. The MTA reaction is carried out through the path we designed to effectively avoid the hydrocarbon pool circulation of ZSM-5 zeolite, so as to improve the aromatics selectivity and inhibit the occurrence of deep side reactions to a great extent. The coke deposition behavior was monitored by thermogravimetric analysis and gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, it is found that with the increase of Si/Al ratio, the active intermediates changed from low-substituted methylbenzene to high-substituted methylbenzene, which led to the rapid deactivation of the catalyst. This work provides a possibility to employ the synergy effect of composite zeolite film synthesizing anti-carbon deposition catalyst in MTA reaction.

Zeolite Thin Film-Coated Fiber Sensors Based on Fabry-Perot Interferometer for Detection of Chemical Vapors

A novel zeolite-coated fiber sensors for detection of volatile organic compounds （VOCs） based on the Fabry-Perot interferometer was proposed and demonstrated. The sensor comprised a polycrystalline silicalite thin film grown up on the cleaved end face of a standard single-mode fiber. The inline Fabry-Perot cavity was composed by the end face of the single-mode fiber and the thin film. The sensor device operated by measuring the interference signal, which was a function of the amount of chemical vapor adsorption in its crystalline micro porous structure. Experimental results showed that the proposed VOC sensor worked well and the sensitivities were 2.78×10^-3dB/ppm when the concentration ranged from 350ppm to 2100ppm and 1.23×10^-3 dB/ppm when the concentration ranged from 2100ppm to 5250 ppm.