In-situ grown columnar mullite reinforced SiC porous ceramic membrane support with excellent mechanical performance and corrosion resistance: Using TiO2 as the key to form columnar mullite

In this study, in-situ growth of columnar mullite reinforced silicon carbide porous membrane supports were prepared, and the addition of TiO2 helped to reduce the sintering temperature for the anisotropic growth of necked columnar mullite crystals. The synthesis of in situ columnar mullite makes reasonable use of the oxidized silica of silicon carbide, and in turn reduces the loss of the silicon carbide porous membrane support under strong corrosive conditions. The material showed a flexural strength of up to 72.95 MPa, and a water flux of 31612.83 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1 when sintered for 2 h in an air environment at 1250 °C. The flexural strength after corrosion in 20 vol% H2SO4 and 1 wt% NaOH solution (90 °C) exceeded 93%. This shows that this porous silicon carbide ceramic membrane scaffold has potential applications in the field of water treatment under harsh environments.