Patent ID: 9533264
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: B01D,B29D

Claim:
1. An organic/inorganic composite membrane comprising: an organic polymer matrix defining finger-like pores therein, the organic polymer matrix having a first surface on a side of the membrane and an opposing second surface on a second side of the membrane, the first surface being denser than the opposing second surface; hydrophilic inorganic particles dispersed in the organic polymer matrix, the first surface having a higher concentration of the hydrophilic inorganic particles than the opposing second surface, the hydrophilic inorganic particles formed from a hydrophilic inorganic particle precursor provided in a polymer solution for forming the organic polymer matrix, wherein a first under-region of the first surface has more than 1 times a concentration of the hydrophilic inorganic particles than a second under-region of the opposing second surface, the first under-region of the first surface extending to a first depth of 0.0005% to about 0.05% of an overall thickness of the organic/inorganic composite membrane, the second under-region of the opposing second surface extending to a second depth of 0.0005% to about 0.05% of the overall thickness of the organic/inorganic composite membrane.