Fabrication of ternary polyvinyl alcohol/tetraethyl orthosilicate/silicotungstic acid hybrid membranes for pervaporation dehydration of alcohol

Herein, we present simple method of fabrication and pervaporation application of organic/inorganic ternary nanocomposite membranes. These are obtained from novel combination of poly(vinyl alcohol)/tetraethyl orthosilicate (PVA/TEOS) along with incorporation of silicotungstic acid (STA) nanoparticles via solution casting method. Physico-chemical structure has been confirmed by using various characterization tools. Pervaporation efficiency of these new nanocomposite membranes in terms of flux and separation factor is investigated for one of the important processes of ethanol separation (azeotropic mixture separation) from its aqueous solution. Dramatically boosted pervaporation separation efficiency by PVA/TEOS membranes has been observed as a result of STA incorporation. The results are also confirmed by calculating diffusion coefficients and activation energies using Fick’s and Arrhenius equations, respectively.