Inorganic ultrafiltration membranes prepared by a combination of anodic film and sol-gel technologies

Abstract Composite ultrafiltration membranes have been prepared by depositing ultrathin porous solgel layers onto stripped anodic film microporous membrane substrates. Two ultrafiltration variants, 5.5 nanometers and 10 nanometers pore size, were selected for flux and filtration performance characterization. Molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) for the 5.5 nanometer pore size variant was about 10,000 Da, and the cut-off transition was quite sharp. Both inorganic ultrafiltration membranes exhibited satisfactory pure water and protein solution fluxes, in addition to good retention of proteins of molecular weight greater than their MWCO. Inorganic membranes of this type also exhibit good solvent and chemical resistance.