Microfabricated Palladium−Silver Alloy Membranes and Their Application in Hydrogen Separation

A submicron-thick and defect-free palladium−silver (Pd−Ag) alloy membrane is manufactured using microfabrication technology. The microfabrication process creates a robust wafer-scale membrane module, which can easily be integrated into a holder with gastight connections. High separation fluxes of up to 4 mol of H2/m2·s with a minimal selectivity of 1500 for H2/He at 450 °C and 83 kPa of H2 retentate pressure were obtained with this setup. The developed membrane technology has great potential for hydrogen purification and in applications such as dehydrogenation.