Palladium-rhodium alloy membrane fabricated using electroless plating technique and its hydrogen permeance

The mechanical strength of a Pd-based membrane inevitably lowers with its decreasing thickness for promoting the H-2 permeance, resulting in the defect generation and rupture of the membranes. The purpose of this report is to improve the mechanical strength of a Pd composite membrane, which consists of a thin Pd film supported on a porous substrate, by alloying the film with Rh. A Pd-Rh miscible alloy membrane was fabricated by the deposition of Rh/Pd double layer on the porous substrate using an electroless-plating technique followed by heat treatment at 973 K. The resulting Pd-Rh alloy composite membrane gave a higher H, permeation coefficient as well as higher tensile strength than a pure Pd composite membrane fabricated in the same manner.