Methods and apparatus for forming apertures in a solid state membrane using dielectric breakdown are provided. In one disclosed arrangement a plurality of apertures are formed. The membrane comprises a first surface area portion on one side of the membrane and a second surface area portion on the other side of the membrane. Each of a plurality of target regions comprises a recess or a fluidic passage opening out into the first or second surface area portion. The method comprises contacting all of the first surface area portion of the membrane with a first bath comprising ionic solution and all of the second surface area portion with a second bath comprising ionic solution. A voltage is applied across the membrane via first and second electrodes in respective contact with the first and second baths comprising ionic solutions to form an aperture at each of a plurality of the target regions in the membrane.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a composite semipermeable membrane having achieved both strength and water-permeable properties. This composite semipermeable membrane is provided with a substrate, a porous support body disposed on the substrate, and a separation function layer provided on the porous support body. The substrate has a structure provided with a crimped portion and a non-crimped portion. The porous support body is impregnated inside a crimped portion and inside a non-crimped portion of the substrate.

Surface conduction in porous media can drastically alter the stability and morphology of electrodeposition at high rates, above the diffusion-limited current. Above the limiting current, surface conduction inhibits growth in the positive membrane and produces irregular dendrites, while it enhances growth and suppresses dendrites behind a deionization shock in the negative membrane. The discovery of uniform growth contradicts quasi-steady leaky membrane models, which are in the same universality class as unstable Laplacian growth, and indicates the importance of transient electro-diffusion or electro-osmotic dispersion. Shock electrodeposition could be exploited for high-rate recharging of metal batteries or manufacturing of metal matrix composite coatings.

Composite membranes include a polymer material that is selectively permeable to heavy (C.sub.3+) hydrocarbons over methane. The polymer material may be a modified poly(dimethylsilane) having a backbone including dimethylsiloxyl monomers, substituted methylsiloxyl monomers, and internal-network monomers. The substituted methylsiloxyl monomers may include phenylmethylsiloxyl monomers or C.sub.5-C.sub.10 alkylmethylsiloxyl monomers such as octylmethylsiloxyl monomers. The polymer material may include silicon-alkyl linkages such as Si(CH.sub.2).sub.nSi, where n?2 that may create a structure that imparts desirable permeability and selectivity characteristics to the composite membrane. The polymer material may be cast onto a porous support material. The composite membranes may be incorporated into systems or methods for removing heavy hydrocarbons from natural gas.

Stable maintenance of high separation performance of a separation membrane having a separation layer comprising a compact carbon layer is described in addition to a separation membrane having a separation layer comprising a compact carbon layer, wherein particles are attached to the compact carbon layer, recesses are present in the compact carbon layer, and the particles are at least partially stuck in the recesses.

The present invention provides a separation functional layer that exhibits suppressed leakage of an ionic liquid and has an enhanced strength. A separation functional layer of the present invention includes: an ionic liquid; a polymer A that forms a crystal structure in the ionic liquid; and a polymer B different from the polymer A. A separation membrane of the present invention includes: the separation functional layer; and a porous support member supporting the separation functional layer.

The present invention relates to a composite semipermeable membrane including: a substrate; a porous support layer disposed on the substrate; and a separation functional layer disposed on the porous support layer, in which the separation functional layer includes: a first layer including a crosslinked aromatic polyamide; and a coating layer existing on the first layer and including an aliphatic polyamide including a fluorine atom, and the composite semipermeable membrane has a proportion of the number of fluorine atoms to the total number of atoms of all elements of 0.5% or more and 8% or less, and has a ratio (N/O ratio) of the number of nitrogen atoms to the number of oxygen atoms of 0.8 or more and 1.3 or less.

The present invention provides an air-permeable filter capable of maintaining excellent air permeation performance without being clogged even in an environment involving exposure to an oil, oil mist, or ink. The present invention relates to an air-permeable filter including a porous membrane having a surface coated with an oil-repellent agent, the filter being characterized in that a sliding angle of 20 ?l of hexadecane or pentadecane on the surface of the filter is 60? or less.

A composite membrane comprising: (A) a porous support; (B) optionally a gutter layer; (C) a first discriminating layer; (D) an outermost layer; and (E) a non-discriminating layer interposed between the first discriminating layer (C) and the outermost layer (D); wherein the outermost layer (D) is a discriminating layer comprising a polyimide polymer.

A thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membrane includes a porous support with surfaces having thereon a hydrophilic self-assembled monolayer. An active layer on the support is sufficiently dense to remove an ionic species from a liquid.