(785d) Thermal Stability of Palladium-Composite Membrane Fabricated By Surfactant Induced Electroless Plating (SIEP)

Thermal stability of the palladium (Pd) membrane is a major challenge in hydrogen separation from mixture of gases at high temperature. Dense Pd-composite membranes on microporous stainless steel substrate (MPSS) were prepared by surfactant induced electroless plating (SIEP). Dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB), a cationic surfactant was used in the Pd EP-bath. The pre- and post-annealing characterizations of the membranes were carried out by SEM, XRD, EDX, and AFM analysis. SEM images showed significant improvement of the membrane surface morphology, in terms of metal grain structures compared to the membranes fabricated by conventional EP process. Permeability tests were carried out with hydrogen and nitrogen at temperatures and pressures in the range of 523 - 823 K and 20 - 100 psi, respectively. The membranes showed excellent H₂-flux and selectivity. H₂ Flux through the membranes fabricated by SIEP shows large improvement compared to those by conventional EP with comparable perm-selectivity. Pd-MPSS membranes fabricated by SIEP and conventional EP methods were tested for thermal stability under thermal cycling (573-723-573 K) at 15 psi pressure drop for about 1200 hours. Some of these results will be discussed in this presentation.