Novel organic–inorganic hybrid membranes were prepared by co-hydrolysis and co-condensation reactions
of aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTEOS) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)
aqueous solution. These sol–gel reactions make a silica nanoparticles network which cross-links the structure
of membranes. As a result, swelling properties of the membranes change due to these cross-linking
reactions. The relative molar content of APTEOS to (APTEOS
The effect of APTEOS to (APTEOS
membranes for dehydration of ethanol was investigated. It was found out that the hybrid membranes with
a certain mass ratio of 1:1 (APTEOS
flux for dehydration of ethanol aqueous mixtures compared with the PVA–TEOS membranes. Because hydrolysis
and condensation reactions of mixed silanes make smaller silica nanoparticles, the permeability
properties of the membranes improve in comparison with those of the membranes prepared using a single
silane.
