Support layer

An excellent review of composite RO and nanofiltration (NE) membranes is available (8). These thin-fHm, composite membranes consist of a thin polymer barrier layer formed on one or more porous support layers, which is almost always a different polymer from the surface layer. The surface layer determines the flux and separation characteristics of the membrane. The porous backing serves only as a support for the barrier layer and so has almost no effect on membrane transport properties. The barrier layer is extremely thin, thus allowing high water fluxes. The most important thin-fHm composite membranes are made by interfacial polymerization, a process in which a highly porous membrane, usually polysulfone, is coated with an aqueous solution of a polymer or monomer and then reacts with a cross-linking agent in a water-kniniscible solvent. 

Thin film composite (TFC) is an ultrathin barrier membrane on polysulfone support layer, of good chemical stability. It has a wide operating pH range of 2.0 to 12.0 at 0 to 40 °C, but cannot tolerate chlorine. TFC membranes are better at rejecting silica than CA membranes. 

Figure 1 Schematic of a cross-section of a commercial SCT tube used as support. Layers 1, 2 and 3 are made of a-Al203 and have respective thicknesses of (pm) 1500, 40, 20 and average pore sizes of (pm) 12, 0.9, 0.2. Layer 4 (optional) is made of y-Al203 and has a thickness of 3-4 pm and average pore size of 4.5 nm.

For supported layered catalysts, optimizing the location of the active sites within the catalyst pellets maximizes the effectiveness or the selectivity or reactor yield. 

In intensity sensing, the most efficient and commonly used method of intrinsic referencing is the introduction of a reference dye into a sensor molecule (or into support layer, the same nanoparticle, etc.) so that it can be excited together with the reporter dye and provide the reference signal [1], The reference dye should conform to stringent requirements ... 

The only ceramic membranes of which results are published, are tubular microporous silica membranes provided by ECN (Petten, The Netherlands).[10] The membrane consists of several support layers of a- and y-alumina, and the selective top layer at the outer wall of the tube is made of amorphous silica (Figure 4.10).[24] The pore size lies between 0.5 and 0.8 nm. The membranes were used in homogeneous catalysis in supercritical carbon dioxide (see paragraph 4.6.1). No details about solvent and temperature influences are given but it is expected that these are less important than in the case of polymeric membranes. 

The microstructure, properties, and performance of Ni-YSZ anodes depend sensitively on the microscopic characteristics of the raw materials (e.g., particles size and morphology of NiO and YSZ powders). The particle sizes of the starting YSZ powders vary usually from 0.2 to 0.3 pm, whereas those for the NiO powders are 1 pm. The Ni to YSZ volume ratio usually varies from 35 65 to 55 45. For example, the reported Ni to YSZ volume ratios include 34 66 [20, 21], 40 60 [24], 43 57 [22], and 55 45 [23], For a bilayer anode, the functional anode layer in contact with the electrolyte contains 45 to 50 vol% Ni, whereas the anode support layer has 35 to 40 vol% Ni [25, 26], A pore former is usually added to tailor the shrinkage (for the cofiring) and to achieve sufficient porosity (>30 vol%) in the anode or the anode support layer. 

SOFC electrodes are commonly produced in two layers an anode or cathode functional layer (AFL or CFL), and a current collector layer that can also serve as a mechanical or structural support layer or gas diffusion layer. The support layer is often an anode composite plate for planar SOFCs and a cathode composite tube for tubular SOFCs. Typically the functional layers are produced with a higher surface area and finer microstructure to maximize the electrochemical activity of the layer nearest the electrolyte where the reaction takes place. A coarser structure is generally used near the electrode surface in contact with the current collector or interconnect to allow more rapid diffusion of reactant gases to, and product gases from, the reaction sites. A typical microstructure of an SOFC cross-section showing both an anode support layer and an AFL is shown in Figure 6.4 [24],... 

FIG U RE 6.4 SEM cross-sectional micrograph of an SOFC, showing an anode support layer, anode functional layer, electrolyte, and cathode [24]. Reprinted from [24] with permission from Elsevier. 

In addition to bilayered electrodes with a functional layer and a support layer, electrodes have also been produced with multilayered or graded structures in which the composition, microstructure, or both are varied either continuously or in a series of steps across the electrode thickness to improve the cell performance compared to that of a single- or bilayered electrode. For example, triple-layer electrodes commonly utilize a functional layer with high surface area and small particle size, a second functional layer (e.g., reference [26]) or diffusion layer with high porosity and coarse structure, and a current collector layer with coarse porosity and only the electronically conductive phase (e.g., reference [27]) to improve the contact with the interconnect. 

Both tubular and planar SOFCs are typically fabricated using one of the cell layers as the structural support layer with a fairly large thickness, on the order of millimeters or hundreds of micrometers, with the other components present as thinner layers of 10s of micrometers for the electrodes and 5 to 40 micrometers for the electrolyte. 

FIGURE 6.7 Extrusion process for fabricating tubular SOFC support layers, (a) Open-ended die with cathode slurry in it and (b) Mandril insertion into the die, extruding the cathode slurry into a closed-ended hollow tube. 

Once the structural support layers have been fabricated by extrusion or EPD for tubular cells or by tape casting or powder pressing for planar cells, the subsequent cell layers must be deposited to complete the cell. A wide variety of fabrication methods have been utilized for this purpose, with the choice of method or methods depending on the cell geometry (tubular or planar, and overall size) materials to be deposited and support layer material, both in terms of compatibility of the process with the layer to be deposited and with the previously deposited layers, and desired microstructure of the layer being deposited. In general, the methods can be classified into two very broad categories wet-ceramic techniques and direct-deposition techniques. 

Both wet-ceramic techniques and direct-deposition techniques require preparation of the feedstock, which can consist of dry powders, suspensions of powders in liquid, or solution precursors for the desired phases, such as nitrates of the cations from which the oxides are formed. Section 6.1.3 presented some processing methods utilized to prepare the powder precursors for use in SOFC fabrication. The component fabrication methods are presented here. An overview of the major wet-ceramic and direct-deposition techniques utilized to deposit the thinner fuel cell components onto the thicker structural support layer are presented below. 

It is well known that Nafion ionomer contains both hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains. The former domain can facilitate gas transport through permeation, and the latter can facilitate proton transfer in the CL. In this new design, the catalyst loading can be further reduced to 0.04 mg/cm in an MEA [10,11]. However, an extra hydrophobic support layer is required. This thin, microporous GDL facilitates gas transport to the CL and prevents catalyst ink bleed into the GDL during applications. It contains both carbon and PTFE and functions as an electron conductor, a heat exchanger, a water removal wick, and a CL support. 

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