Synthesis of zeolite membranes

Zeolite membranes offer great application potentials in membrane separation and/or reaction due to their excellent separation performance and catalytic ability. Up to present, various synthesis methods of zeolite membranes have been developed, including embedded method, in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method, and secondary growth method etc. Compared with the in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method, the secondary growth method possesses a variety of advantages such as easier operation, higher controllability in crystal orientation, microstructure and film thickness, leading to much better reproducibility. This review provides a concise summary and analysis of various synthesis methods reported in the literature. In particular, the secondary growth method was discussed in detail in terms of crystal orientation, defects and crystal grain layers. Some critical issues were also highlighted, which were conducive to the improvement in the synthesis technology of zeolite membranes.