Preparation of Oriented Zeolite UTD-1 Membranes via Pulsed Laser Ablation Trinidad Mun ˜ oz, Jr., and Kenneth J. Balkus, Jr.* Contribution from the Department of Chemistry, UniVersity of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75083-0688 ReceiVed July 22, 1998 Abstract: Thin films of the high silica zeolite UTD-1 have been prepared by using pulsed laser ablation onto polished silicon and for the first time on porous stainless steel disks. A post hydrothermal treatment of the laser deposited films in a UTD-1 synthesis gel results in oriented crystal growth. Densely packed planklike crystals of UTD-1 grow from the laser deposited film resulting in the ultra-large pores of UTD-1 oriented perpendicular to the support. The oriented UTD-1 membrane grown on porous stainless steel was evaluated for the room temperature separation of a n-heptane/toluene mixture, and selective permeation of the paraffin was observed. Introduction Nanoporous molecular sieves are attractive materials for membrane-based applications in part because of their selective adsorption properties imparted by their uniform pore structure. The utility of zeolites as membrane materials depends on the ability to prepare continuous defect free films. Depending on the type of zeolite, hydrothermal synthesis conditions, and in some cases the type of support, it is possible to obtain zeolite membranes having a particular orientation. Various techniques have been implemented in the fabrication of zeolite membranes. One approach has been the direct crystallization of zeolites such as ZSM-5 on supports in which a free-standing zeolite mem- brane can be removed from the substrate. 1 A problem with free- standing zeolite membranes as with most ceramic membranes is that they are generally quite fragile. This is further compli- cated by the fact that practical application of these microporous materials may require thin films. Therefore, most of the effort in this area has been in supported zeolite membranes. 1-13 Again the simplest strategy is to grow crystals onto a surface. A disadvantage with this approach is that isolated crystal growth can occur and as a result, the crystals must be grown large enough to form a continuous and defect-free film. Table 1 provides a representative list of zeolite membranes prepared by this method which are mostly small and medium pore size zeolites As can be seen from this table some zeolites have been prepared as oriented films. However, the control of the pore orientation in the membrane remains quite a challenge. Preferred crystal orientation offers several advantages in optimizing the efficiencies of gas separations as well as catalytic processes. Oriented zeolite membrane growth has been limited to those zeolites having MFI 1,2,12,14-29 and LTA 12,21 topologies. 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