SiO2 Modification of Silicon Carbide Membrane via an Interfacial In Situ Sol–Gel Process for Improved Filtration Performance

Silicon carbide (SiC) membrane has emerged as a promising class of inorganic ceramic membranes with many advantageous attributes and has been used for a variety of industrial microfiltration (MF) processes. The state-of-the-art industrial manufacturing of SiC membranes based on the particle sintering method can only achieve an average pore size that ranges from 40 nm to a few micrometers, which is still unsatisfactory for ultrafiltration (UF) applications. Thus, the pore size control of SiC membranes remains a focus of continuing study. Herein, we provide an in situ sol–gel modification strategy to tailor the pore size of SiC membranes by a superficial deposition of SiO2 onto the membrane surface and membrane pore channels. Our in situ sol–gel modification method is simple and effective. Furthermore, the physical characteristics and the filtration performance of the membrane can easily be controlled by the in situ reaction time. With an optimal in situ reaction time of 30 min, the average pore size of the membrane can be reduced from macropores (400 nm) to mesopores (below 20 nm), and the retention ability for 20 nm fluorescent PS microspheres can be improved from 5% to 93%; the resultant SiC/SiO2 composite membranes are imparted with water permeance of 77 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1, improved anti-protein-fouling properties, excellent performance, and anti-acid stabilities. Therefore, modified SiC/SiO2 membranes based on the in situ sol–gel process have great potential as UF membranes for a variety of industrial processes.