Patent ID: 7993524

Claim:
A process for the preparation of a membrane of selective permeability, said process comprising: (a) wetting with a first liquid phase a microporous support that is wettable by said first liquid phase, said first liquid phase having dissolved therein a first polymerizable species; (b) with said microporous support thus wetted, contacting said microporous support with a second liquid phase that is at least partially immiscible with said first liquid phase and in which is dissolved a second polymerizable species, one or both of said first and second liquid phases having carbon nanotubes randomly dispersed therein, said carbon nanotubes being open at both ends and have an average length, said first and second polymerizable species being mutually reactive by interfacial polymerization to form a solid polymer that is insoluble in said first and second liquid phases and that adheres to said microporous support; (c) with said first and second liquid phases in contact, causing said first and second polymerizable species to form a layer of said polymer over an outer surface of said microporous support; (d) sealing said layer to form a continuous barrier around said carbon nanotubes, said barrier having a thickness that is less than said average length of said carbon nanotubes; and (e) recovering from said first and second liquid phases said microporous support with said layer adhering to said outer surface.