METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THIN METAL MEMBRANES

Abstract: Method for manufacturing a composite membrane structure comprising a thin metal membrane, for example of silver, palladium or palladium alloys, for use in selective diffusion of gases. The metal material for the membrane is applied (3) by sputtering and/or vapor deposition as a coating (4) on a base member (1) having a low surface roughness, to a desired thickness of the resulting coating. The coating is pulled off from the base member so as to form the metal membrane (10), and the metal membrane is placed on a supporting substrate.

Description: METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THIN METAL MEMBRANES The invention relates to a method for manufacturing very thin metal membranes being free of defects and suitable for use in gas separation. This type of gas separation takes place by selective diffusion through the specifically manu¬ factured membranes, which can consist of various metals, but in this connection membranes of palladium or palladium alloys are of particular interest. Metal membranes for this purpose can lie on a support- ing substrate that shall provide for mechanical strength in the composite membrane structure. The invention is particu¬ larly directed to manufacturing such a composite membrane structure for use in gas separation by selective diffusion and comprising a metal membrane manufactured on the basis of a method according to the invention. A number of metals possess perm-selectivity (selective permeability) with respect to various gases. Therefore they can be employed as selective membranes in gas separation. Well known examples of such selective properties are oxygen diffusion in silver and hydrogen diffusion in palladium alloys. A prerequisite for perm-selectivity is that there are no defects in these metal membranes in the form of through holes and cracks that can provide for transport of all types of gases through the membrane by common gas dif- fusion in the defects. In order to obtain as high (selective) permeability as possible in the membrane with respect to the gas concerned, it is desirable to make the membranes as thin as possible. Thin metallic films can be produced in a number of well known manners, such as for example sputtering, depositing metal vapor and chemical depositing methods. For mechanical stability such thin films must lie on a mechanically stable, supporting substrate. When employed as membranes for selec¬ tive separation of gases, the thin metal membrane lies on a supporting substrate having a sufficient permeability for the gas component with respect to which the metal membrane is selective. Supporting porous substrates must have as small pores as possible in order to have the required mechanical strength for the thin metal membrane it supports. Tight substrates must have a high permeability for the gas concerned, and hydrogen is particularly interesting here. This is known in various metals, inter alia, in group V of the periodical system. Previously there have been proposed methods for producing thin (<25μm) defect-free metallic membranes by sputtering or thermal or chemical depositing on the substrate, i.e. the metal membrane is formed by letting it grow on the substrate until it has the thickness being necessary in order not to contain defects in the form of through holes or cracks. In actual practice it has been found to be difficult to manufacture very thin (<2μm) defect-free membranes on substrates by means of these met¬ hods. These known techniques are described, inter alia, in: 1. Japanese patent publication 4-349926 (A) - patent application No. 3-126105 - "Hydrogen gas separation membrane" - Mitsubishi Heavy Ind. Ltd. 2. V.M. Gryaznow, O. S. Serebryannikova, Yu. M. Serov, M. M. Ermilova, A.N. Karavanov, A. P. Mischenko and N. M. Orekhova: "Preparation and catalysis over pal- ladium composite membranes". Applied Catalysts A: General, .££ (1993) 15-23. 3. US patent 4.857.080 describes the preparation of compo¬ site membranes by direct sputtering on a supporting, porous substrate. 4. US patent 5.409.782 corresponds to some degree to the US patent just referred to, in so far as it relates to methods for forming thin films directly on a substrate. 5. US patent 4.699.637 describes: First there is prepared a metal membrane of thickness 10-100 microns, this being then put between two metal fabrics for mechanical strength. The actual membrane manufacturing takes place by rolling. In an other method there has been employed thicker (25/ιm) Pd films being thereafter laid on tight substrates of a metal having a high hydrogen permeability, such as vanadi¬ um metal. In order to avoid interdiffusion between the Pd film and the metal substrate, there must be applied a thin oxide layer being porous and having a certain roughness. This method is described in 6. D. I. Edlund and W. A. Pledger I. Membrane Science 77 (1993) 255-264 7. US patent 5.139.541 (D. I. Edlund 1992). Other somewhat remote examples of prior art in this context may be found in US patents 3.270.381, 4.898.623 and 5.382.344. With this invention there has been provided an alterna¬ tive and novel method of manufacturing a composite membrane structure comprising a very thin metal membrane, for example of silver, palladium or palladium alloys, for use in selec¬ tive diffusion of gases. In this novel method there is employed a base member having a tight surface and a very low roughness, for example a surface of a highly polished sili- cium monocrystal, for depositing the thin metal membrane. The surface roughness being a prerequisite according to the invention, can be defined advantageously in relation to the thickness of the metal membrane to be deposited. It is pre¬ ferred that the thickness of the membrane is several times larger than the irregularities that represent the surface roughness. More particularly the irregularities expressed as depth/height dimension in the surface of the base member, should as a maximum be one third to on half of the thickness of the metal membrane to be manufactured. The very regular or smooth surface makes it possible to prepare very thin membrane films that are free of defects. The actual depositing of the metal film on this particular base member can be performed by means of sputtering methods or vaporazing methods, or a combination of these. Under proper conditions this metal film (membrane) can be removed from the base member and applied to the desired supporting substrate. The metal film is removed mechanically from the base member used, by being pulled therefrom. In order that the metal film can be easily removed from the base member it is a substantial advantage that this consists of a material resulting in low adherence of the metal film applied. Examples of materials having suitable adherence properties in this respect, are, inter alia, glas, most oxides and nitrides. More specifically silicium nitride is a base member material having low adherence. The same applies to alumina where bound oxygen against the metal film applied, for example of palladium, is believed to be the cause of the desired low adherence. Correspondingly also borides and carbides on so forth are considered to be suit- able, since all such materials have a tendency to form a mono-layer having a high oxygen content on the surface, when located in air. It is the preparation of the membrane on a smooth, defect-free base member, the subsequent mechanical removal from the base member without forming any defects in the metal membrane, and afterwards the application thereof to a supporting substrate, that in summary constitute the basic features of the invention. More definite statements of the method according to the invention as well as the novel and specific features there¬ of, are contained in the claims. As another example of base material in addition to silicium, preferably in a mono-crystaline form as mentioned above, quartz is a material of interest in this context. It is difficult to give any dimensional indication of the roughness of useful regular or smooth base members as men¬ tioned above, this being among other things due to the fact that it has little meaning to talk about "roughness" when being at an atomic level. This is the case when employing a silicium monocrystal as a base member for manufacturing a palladium membrane. It is essential that the base member has a very regular surface so that a defect-free membrane can be formed thereon while at the same time it shall be possible to separate the membrane coating from the base member. A consideration of much significance in the choice of base material, is that this should have a low chemical activity with respect to the metal concerned in the membrane to be manufactured, for example palladium. So as to simplify the process of removing the metal membrane from the base member, this can be pre-treated so that the metal will more easily losen from the base member. This is known per se and is done by applying an ultra thin film to the base member for reducing the adherence between the metal membrane and the base member. This ultra thin film preferably has a thickness being several orders of magnitude lower than the thickness of the membran coating on the base member, such as less than 1/1000 of the thickness of the coat. The film applied can for example consist of silanes. With such a thin film applied, the surface on which the membrane coating is to be deposited, will be at least as good or perfect as the actual base member, the surface of which in this way can be regarded as modified and as the case may be will remain so modified or treated during the course of the manufacturing process throughout a certain time. At this point it should be mentioned that the oxide being formed naturally on a silicium surface at a thickness of for example 12-20A may be able to represent such a modi¬ fication or surface treatment involving poor adherence of an applied membrane or metal coating. As an alternative to or in combination with pre-treat¬ ment as discussed above, there may also be performed a post- treatment of the applied membrane coating, by chemical, thermal or mechanical methods in order to reduce the ad- herence between the base member and the coating. Both pre- treatment and post-treatment as mentioned here, are in principle known from other uses. The invention involves a number of advantages, in particular the following: 1. Very thin, defect-free, homogene membranes (thickness typically 10 000 A) combined with a porous substrate, can be manufactured. The reason for this is that the surface of the base member on which the membrane is formed, can easily be kept clean of particles, and that the depositing process itself involves a high degree of purity. 2. The composition of the membrane can be simply controll¬ ed and varied when it is applied by means of a sputtering process. The method is very well reproducible. 3. An automated manufacturing process is possible and may be performed in the same way as for example in the produc¬ tion of video tape. It is an advantage to apply the metal membrane on a movable base member, and then continuously pull it off later and collect it, for example in the form of a metal coil. The thickness of the membrane makes it pos- sible to have a continuous, automated production at low material and manufacturing costs. 4. The method is flexible with respect to how the metal membrane is employed. After having pulled the metal membrane off the base member one is free to select a substrate for the membrane. Therefore it is possible to manufacture as¬ sembled "composite" membranes with a very thin metal mem¬ brane lying on a porous or less smooth, supporting sub¬ strate. 5. The method also makes it possible to control the strength of the contact between the metal membrane and the substrate it is laid on, by the ability to control the degree of joining. In the following description the invention is to be explained more closely in the form of an example based on the method according to the invention. The drawing in a simplified and schematic manner shows a plant or equipment comprising a rotating base member in the form of a cylinder 1, the direction of rotation of which is indicated with arrow 1A. A deposition device 3 based for example on sputtering according to principles being known per se, as illustrated with arrows 3A applies a coating to the rotating, cylindrical base member l, whereby the coating is shown at 4. This membrane coating follows the rotation of cylinder 1 through a certain angular range and is influenced by a post-treatment device 8 in a chemical, thermal or mechanical way so as to reduce the adherence between the base 1 and coating 4. Then at position 6A the resulting membrane is removed from the cylinder surface 1 by being pulled out via an auxiliary roller 6 to a continuous mem¬ brane foil 10 for further processing. There is also shown a pre-treatment unit 2 which can apply for example an ultra thin film as explained previously, by chemical, thermal or mechanical means prior to the sputtering or vapor depositing by means of device 3. Such pre-treatment shall serve to reduce the adherence between base 1 and coating 4 being applied thereto. It is obvious that the production can take place in other manners than continuously by means of a rotating base member 1 as illustrated in the drawing. As an alternative the membrane can be produced in sheets on a preferably planar base member having a desired area dimension, and the removal from such a stationary base member can take place for example by means of a piece of tape being brought to adhere at an edge of the membrane produced, so that it can be pulled out from or up from this edge. The composition of the membrane coating being built up on the base member, can be controlled or checked and more- over it is possible to build up the coating layer by layer with varying composition or properties in the layers. This latter possibility can for example be of significance if a membrane is desired with a certain catalytic surface effect or a specific chemical property, such as corrosion resi- stance. The production equipment with a rotating cylinder as shown in the drawing, can be based on per se known pro¬ duction plants for similar purposes, for example video tape as previously mentioned, but modified with respect to the steps included in the method according to the invention. This in particular applies to the surface of the base member or cylinder 1, which preferably has specific properties, i.e. very low surface roughness and low adherence to the material applied, as explained above. How the metal membrane is mounted on and attached to a supporting substrate, is explained in the following examples. Two exemplary uses of interest to metal membranes manufactured according to the invention, are now explained below. Example 1: Palladium and palladium alloys for hydrogen separation. The development of palladium alloys for hydrogen sepa¬ ration has lasted for many years. The major part of this work has been directed towards thick, self-supporting metal foils (>25μm) being commonly manufactured by rolling. Be¬ cause the material costs are very high for palladium mem¬ branes it has been attempted in recent years to manufacture thinner membranes being carried by a porous substrate of another, cheaper material. Such membranes are denoted compo¬ site membranes, and are manufactured by chemical or thermal deposition and sputtering techniques directly onto the supporting substrate. It has proved to be difficult to manufacture such metal membranes without defects when they shall be thinner than 2μm. This can be due to the natural porosity of the substrate and the stresses established in the metal when it is applied to the irregular surface that such a substrate has. By means of the present method the palladium alloy can be used for making a defect-free membrane or film having a thickness less than 2μm, at a regular and smooth base memb¬ er. Then the metal film is pulled off from this base and is laid on a porous, supporting substrate. If the substrate is a ceramic, porous material that can be employed at a high temperature, there is provided thereby a composite membrane for high temperature use. The membrane can be mechanically attached to the substrate by heat-treatment so that it sags and is shaped according to the irregularities in the sub- strate surface, or this reacts with the membrane, or the membrane can possibly be glued to the substrate with a suitable adhesive along or at points of the periphery of the metal membrane. A possibility of controlling the contact between the membrane and the substrate can be favourable in view of an equal heat expansion of the two materials. Improved chemical or physical contact between the metal film and the porous substrate, can be obtained by using various forms of ad¬ hesive at limited areas of the substrate, or by chemically impregnating the substrate or the substrate surface, with a component increasing the contact during subsequent heat- treatment, as for example Pd-impregnation of the substrate. Example 2 : Palladium or palladium alloys as electrodes for hydrogen-conductive electrolytes, or silver as electrodes for oxygen-conductive electrolytes in electrochemical cells as for example fuel cells and gas sensors. As an example there may here be contemplated a fuel cell consisting of an ion-conductive electrolyte, for example an oxygen ion conductive electrolyte such as yttrium-stabilized zirconium or a hydrogen-conductive elec¬ trolyte as for example Yb-doped BaCe0 3 or SrCe0 3 . At both sides of the electrolyte there is placed an electrode which must be able to conduct electrons and be penetrable to gas. A thin metallic film of silver as a catode on an oxygen ion conductive electrolyte, will be suitable as electrode. Correspondingly a thin palladium- based metallic film at the anode side, will be suitable as electrode in such fuel cells. In a similar way metal mem¬ branes produced according to the invention, can be elec¬ trodes in gas sensors for measuring chemical potential differences by means of EMF. Example 3: Selective metallic membranes as a part of sensor components. Selective metal membranes can be incorporated in sen¬ sors for detecting the gases diffusing selectively through the metal film. In a gas flow containing a mixture of seve- ral gases a metal membrane being selective, for example with respect to hydrogen, can be employed for extracting hydrogen to be detected in a chemical analysis. If the diffusion coefficient of the gas in the metal membrane and the support is known, it is possible to calculate the amount of hydrogen in the gas mixture. In this manner it will be possible to obtain both detection and a quantitative description of hydrogen in the gas mixture. The invention described here makes it possible to produce defect-free metal films or membranes (i.e. without any through holes) combined with a supporting substrate for gas separation, by employing a method whereby the metal film is first formed on a particular base member and is after¬ wards mechanically pulled off therefrom without creating any defects. By using a well suited and preferably perfect base member during deposition of the metal by sputtering and/or a vaporizing process, thinner films can be prepared than by means of known methods, whereby the metal membrane is pre¬ pared directly on the porous or in other respects irregular, supporting substrate. For the purpose of for example an increased production capacity or specific qualities, two or more of the depo¬ sition techniques mentioned, apparently can be combined in the same process, for example sputtering and vapor depo- sition. In such case sputtering will normally be performed prior to the vapor step. Moreover the shape of the base member can be modified in relation to the cylindrical shape illustrated and the planar shape mentioned, in the case of specific desires or needs concerning the geometrical shape of the metal membrane to be manufactured. Thus, the subse¬ quent practical utilisation or adoption of the membrane can take place more easily. In addition to the possibilities of use mentioned, it is obvious that also other fields of use can be found. In connection with the production of a number of chemical compounds dehydrogenation or hydrogenation can be of inter¬ est, and selective gas separation by means of membranes produced according to the present invention can be well suited also for such uses. As a supporting substrate in a composite membrane structure there can be employed plastic materials, metals, ceramic materials and so forth. Also in this respect it is possible to select materials within a wide spectrum.

Claims: C l a i m s 1. Method for manufacturing a composite membrane structure comprising a thin metal membrane, for example of silver, palladium or palladium alloys for use in selective diffusion of gases, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the metal material for the membrane is applied (3) by sputtering and/or vapor deposition as a coating (4) on a base member (1) having a low surface roughness, to a desired tickness of the resulting coating, and that the coating is pulled off from the base member so as to form the metal membrane (10) , and that the metal membrane is placed on a supporting substrate. 2. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the base member (1) is pre-treated chemically, thermally or mechanically prior to the sputtering and/or vapor desposition, so as to reduce the adherence between the base member (1) and the coating (4) . 3. Method according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the base member is pre- treated (2) by applying an ultra thin film the thickness of which is less than 1/1000 of the thickness of the coating. 4. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the base member (1) with the applied coating (4) is post-treated (8) chemically, thermally or mechanically so as to reduce the adherence between the base member (1) and the coating (4) . 5. Method according to any one of the claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by the employment of a base member consisting substantially of silicium, preferably in monocrystaline form. 6. Method according to any one of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by employing a base member consisting substantially of glass, quartz or other oxides, or nitrides. 7. Method according to any one of claims 1-6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the surface roughness of the base member expressed as the depth/height dimension of irregularities in the surface, is a fraction of the thick¬ ness of the coating forming the metal membrane. 8. Method according to any one of claims 1-7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that there is employed a base member (1) being in preferably continuous movement, that the metal material is continuously applied to the base member at one position (3A) , and that the resulting coating (4) is pulled off from the base member (1) at a second position (6A) . 9. Method according to claim 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that there is employed a base member (1) having a preferably circular cylindrical shape, and that the base member is driven in rotational movement (1A) . 10. Method according to any one of claims 1-9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the coating is built up in layers, preferably with a varying composition or pro¬ perties in the individual layers. 11. Method according to any one of claims 1-10, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the metal membrane is attached to the supporting substrate only at separate points or places, possibly along the edges of the metal membrane.

Inventors: BREDESEN RUNE, KLETTE HALLGEIR, BREDESEN, RUNE, KLETTE, HALLGEIR
Applicants: BREDESEN RUNE, KLETTE HALLGEIR, SINTEF, BREDESEN, RUNE, KLETTE, HALLGEIR
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B01D39
IPC codes: B01D53, B01D71, C01B3, C01B13, C23C14, H01M4, H01M8