Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of Nano-sized DD3R Zeolite Powder in Thin DD3R Membrane Synthesis of thin DD3R membrane

Abstract

DD3R zeolite powder was synthesized within a brief period using tetramethyl orthosilicate through a sonochemical method combined with hydrothermal treatment. The highest crystallinity with average particle size of 47 nm was achieved within five days. This nano-sized powder was used for seeding the surface of a support modified with TiO2-Boehmite, facilitating the synthesis of a thin (less than 5 µm) and uniform DD3R zeolite layer. The resulting membrane exhibited perm-selectivities of N2 and CO2 over CH4 that were 3 and 4 times greater than those reported in literature. The surface modification of the synthesized layer using a polydimethylsiloxane solution further improved the perm-selectivity of N2/CH4 and CO2/CH4 by up to 12 and 260, respectively. The straightforward synthesis of the initial layer before modification positively influenced the perm-selectivity of N2/CH4, achieving a three-fold increase compared to similar works in the literature.

Keywords

• dd3r zeolite powder
• sonochemical method
• hydrothermal treatment
• nano-sized powder
• surface modification
• perm-selectivity