Effects of Synthesis Conditions on the PdCu Membrane Structure

In this study, it was aimed to plate PdCu alloy layer on porous glass supports by using electroless plating technique. It was also aimed to achieve coexistence of fcc (face-centered cubic) and bcc (body-centered cubic) phases on the alloy membrane layer. The fcc and bcc phases were seen together in the structures of the membranes synthesized at all three bath temperatures (30 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C), but, it was shown that the most suitable coating rate was achieved when the coating bath temperature was 40 °C. The appropriate composition of PdCu (74% Pd, 26% Cu) was achieved by following a synthesis procedure as follows: Coating in Pd bath three times for 60 minutes each followed by coating in Cu bath at the low formaldehyde concentration (5 mL/L) for 15 minutes. Hydrogen flux in the membrane was measured as 1.9x10^-6 mol/cm²s. After flux measurements, it was determined that the membrane structure changed and the fcc (200) structure, which did not previously exist in the structure, was formed.