Résumé
The adaptation of membranes to specific applications is achieved principally via tailor-made dense or porous top-layers coated on porous supports. The sol‐gel process was introduced in ceramic membrane processing in the 1980s with the aim to prepare mesoporous membranes for ultrafiltration and later on microporous membranes for nanofiltration and gas and vapor separation. R&D objectives readily changed when membranes properties were expected to go beyond a simple separation capability. New inorganic and hybrid organic–inorganic membranes with combined tailor-made properties (controlled pore size and porosity, hydrophilic or hydrophobic character, catalytic activity, ionic conduction, etc.) have been investigated as separation layers able to manage extraction, distribution, and contact operations between liquid and gas phases. The objective of this chapter is to provide the more recent advances in sol‐gel processed membranes as well as the basic methods applied for their synthesis. This chapter is separated into two parts dealing with synthesis and characterization of inorganic and hybrid organic–inorganic membranes and membrane applications.