We have developed novel thin film composite (TFC) membranes on ceramic substrates (referred as ceramic TFC membranes thereafter) for pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol (IPA) by using interfacial polymerization (IP) of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trymesoylchoride (TMC) to create ultra-thin polyamide films as selective layers. Prior to IP, a gutter layer of polydopamine (PDA) or polyethyleneimine (PEI) was deposited on alpha-alumina ceramic surfaces to improve the adhesion of polyamicle thin films onto the ceramic. It was found that the PEI-coated ceramic substrate provided better adhesion with the polyamicle thin film than the original and PDA-coated ones owing to its smoother surface. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was employed to seal defects on ceramic TFC membranes and significantly improved the performance of pervaporation dehydration of IPA with a flux of 6.05 kg/m(2) h and a separation factor 1396 at 80 degrees C. Moreover, the developed ceramic TFC membrane shows high stability after 120 h operation. Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) analyses revealed that the newly developed membrane has an ultrathin polyamide layer of 79 nm and a MIMS coating of 26 nm. This study demonstrates the promising application of ceramic TFC membranes for pervaporation dehydration of organic solutions. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.