Preparation of perovskite alumina ceramic membrane using sol–gel method

Perovskite alumina membranes have been synthesized using the sol–gel method. This method involved the peptization of a sol prepared from aluminum secondary-butoxide. The effect of binder on the sol viscosity and crack formation of membrane during drying were studied. It was noted that increasing of binder concentration led to increase sol viscosity. TGA analysis showed that, there is no significant weight loss for samples with binder and without binder. FT-IR analysis showed that after the perovskite alumina membrane was sintered at 400 °C, Alsingle bondOsingle bondAl band (858–859 cm−1) appeared. The morphology was characterized using SEM and phase transformation was analyzed by X-ray diffractometer. The poor crystallinity of the perovskite alumina phase was due to perovskite addition. In other word, the addition of perovskite will increase the temperature of phase transformation. The SEM morphology shows the uneven surface of membrane after sintered. The pore size of membrane increased from 3.88 to 6.80 nm after it was sintered from 400 to 900 °C.