Impact of C-CVD synthesis conditions on the hydraulic and electronic properties of SiC/CNTs nanocomposite microfiltration membranes

In this study, commercial SiC ceramic microfiltration membranes were coated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to obtain a conductive and hydrophobic membrane material. In order to have better control of the surface and electronic properties of the developed material, two adjacent fractional factorial designs (25-2) were implemented to quantify CNTs synthesis parameters influence. The design of experiments revealed that the quantity of the synthesized CNTs was mainly controlled by CVD temperature, duration and iron catalyst concentration. The structure of the CNTs layer was mainly controlled by CVD temperature within the investigated parameter range (650–850 °C). It was demonstrated that pure water permeability was anti-correlated with CNTs synthesis yield due to an increase in membranes' hydrophobicity and potential pore blockage. The membrane coated with the largest amount of CNTs was obtained at 850 °C for a duration of at least 1 h and showed relatively low electrical resistance and good microwave absorption. Finally, such tunable nanocomposite material has the potential to further improve the filtration performances and membranes widespread application. [Display omitted] •CNTs synthesis by C-CVD on flat sheet ceramic membranes was successful and controlled•CVD duration, temperature and catalyst concentration were influencing CNT yield.•CVD temperature was only influencing CNTs structure.•CNTs amount and structure influence membranes separation and electrical properties.