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Preparation of polycarbosilane-induced composite ceramic
membranes and oil-water separation
Authors： ZHANG Di, JIA Haiqi, ZHU Jiaming, ZHANG Zhaoqian, LI Xing, LIU Huaizhu, LIAO Mingjia, GONG Genghao
Units： 1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Separation Membrane Materials, School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China； 2. College of Chemical Engineering, Chongqing Chemical Industry Vocational College, Chongqing 401228, China； 3. Tangshan Jiyou Ruifeng Chemical Limited Company, Jidong Oilfield ,Tangshan 063500, China
KeyWords： ceramic membrane; polycarbosilane; oil-water separation; phase inversion/sintering
ClassificationCode：TQ028.8
year,volume(issue):pagination： 2025,45(5):19-32

Abstract：
To address the critical challenges of complex fabrication processes, high energy consumption, and limited separation performance in conventional ceramic membranes, this study proposed a novel composite ceramic membrane fabrication strategy based on synergistic optimization of polycarbosilane (PCS)-derived ceramics and phase inversion/sintering processes. Using polysulfone (PSf) as the polymer matrix, alumina (Al2O3) as the base material, and PCS as the ceramic precursor,  a casting solution by optimizing the N-methyl-pyrrolidone/tetrahydrofuran (NMP/THF) mixed solvent system was developed. During sintering at 1 450 ℃, the silica (SiO2) generated from PCS pyrolysis reacts in situ with Al2O3 to form mullite (3Al2O3·2SiO2) crystals, which significantly enhanced the microstructure and mechanical properties of the membrane material. This study systematically investigated the effects of solvent composition and coagulation bath conditions on membrane performance. The results demonstrated that the composite ceramic membranes prepared under various coagulation bath conditions exhibited the following outstanding advantages: porous structure characteristics with high porosity (52%~73%) and excellent compressive strength (18.5~38.2 MPa), along with tunable pore sizes (90~320 nm);exceptional separation performance for 1 000 mg/L oil-in-water emulsions [permeance: 13 240~20 540 L/(m2·h·MPa）,oil rejection: 98.1%~99.4%]; and remarkable antifouling properties, achieving 90% flux recovery through simple chemical cleaning. Compared to pure Al2O3 membrane, the  PCS-Al2O3 composite ceramic membrane fabricated under optimized conditions exhibited  a 54% increase in porosity while its compressive strength did not significantly degrade, maintaining mechanical performance comparable to that of pure Al2O3 membranes, successfully overcoming the technical challenge in conventional ceramic membranes of balancing high porosity with high mechanical strength.

Funds：
重庆市教委科学技术研究计划项目（KJQN202404521）； 长寿区科技计划项目（CSKJ2024010）

AuthorIntro：
张迪（1998-），男，山东威海人，硕士研究生，研究方向为油水分离陶瓷膜

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