A porous membrane is provided comprising a layer (A), a layer (B), and a layer (C) with an orientation of A-C-B, wherein layer (A) comprises an amorphous fluoropolymer, layer (B) comprises a symmetric fluoropolymer membrane or an asymmetric fluoropolymer membrane, and layer (C) comprises a composite fluoropolymer comprising (i) the amorphous fluoropolymer and (ii) the symmetric fluoropolymer membrane or the asymmetric fluoropolymer membrane. Methods of making and of using the porous membrane are also provided.

Cation exchange membranes and materials including silica-based ceramics, and associated methods, are provided. In some aspects, cation exchange membranes that include a silica-based ceramic that forms a coating on and/or within a porous support membrane are described. The cation exchange membranes and materials may have certain structural or chemical attributes (e.g., pore size/distribution, chemical functionalization) that, alone or in combination, can result in advantageous performance characteristics in any of a variety of applications for which selective transport of positively charged ions through membranes/materials is desired. In some embodiments, the silica-based ceramic contains relatively small pores (e.g., substantially spherical nanopores) that may contribute to some such advantageous properties. In some embodiments, the cation exchange membrane or material includes sulfonate and/or sulfonic acid groups covalently bound to the silica-based ceramic.

A humidifier for transferring water vapour from a first gas stream to a second gas stream in a fuel cell system has a stack of thin plates joined together at their edges by planar sealing surfaces, with water permeable membranes between the plates. Each plate defines a gas flow passage along its top and bottom surfaces, with an inlet and outlet defined along edges of the plate, and a flow field extending between the inlet and outlet openings. Inlet and outlet passages connect the inlet and outlet openings to the flow field, with the planar sealing surfaces including bridging portions extending across these passages. Support structures are provided throughout the flow field to support the membrane and diffusion medium layer(s). Each support structure comprises a porous material which is sufficiently porous to permit gas flow through the flow field.

The present invention relates to a separator membrane having a hierarchical structure, a production method therefor and a xylene separation method using same, and to: a separator membrane having a hierarchical structure comprising mesopores, the separator membrane having mesopores introduced inside a microporous zeolite separator membrane, thereby being thin, having less defects and exhibiting high xylene permeation and separation performance; a production method therefor; and a xylene separation method using same.

A method of forming a filter with uniform pore sizes includes synthesizing a moiety so as to form a plurality of like platelets having a precisely sized pore extending therethrough, distributing the plurality of like platelets about a membrane having apertures therethrough, and bonding the plurality of platelets around the apertures to form precisely sized pores through the membrane. A filtration membrane is also disclosed which provides a porous membrane having a plurality of apertures therethrough, and a plurality of platelets, wherein each platelet has a pore therethrough. The platelets are positioned over or in the apertures.

According to example embodiments, a separation membrane includes a graphene on at least one surface of a polymer support. The graphene may include a plurality of grains defined by grain boundaries.

A microporous membrane may be manufactured using a polymer binder and a filler material using a liquid pore forming agent having a surface free energy that is lower than that of the filler and higher than that of the polymer. The repulsion of the pore forming agent to the polymer may form the pores of the membrane, while the attraction of the polymer to the filler may encapsulate the filler into the structure of the membrane. The filler may be particles that are on the order of or smaller than the wall thickness of the microporous structure.

After bringing a water-containing peeling liquid in contact with a thin flat film formed on a substrate, a support film including a cover film having one main surface thereof is laminated onto the flat film, such that the support film is in contact with the flat film, a cover film-attached laminate composed of a support film and a cover film is then separated from the substrate, and the laminate including the flat film and the support film is separated from the cover film-attached film.

Disclosed are polymers suitable for hydrophilically modifying the surface of porous fluoropolymer supports, for example, a copolymer of the formula:

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Also disclosed are a method of preparing the polymers, a method of hydrophilically modifying porous fluoropolymer supports, hydrophilic fluoropolymer porous membranes prepared from the polymers, and a method of filtering fluids through the porous membranes.

A macromolecule membrane structure (2) comprises a membrane (3) with water-channeling integral membrane proteins (IMPS) (1) and is coated, on a first surface, with a silica layer (4). The silica layer (4) stabilizes the macromolecule membrane structure (2) and the water-channeling IMPS (1) while maintaining the water-channeling function of the water-channeling IMPs (1). As a consequence of this stabilization, the macromolecule membrane structure (2) may be used in a filtration device (5) for various filtration operations, including water purification.