Recent development of novel membranes for desalination

Abstract

In the past decades, novel materials (e.g., aquaporin proteins, carbon nanotubes, nanoporous graphene and graphene oxide) have emerged as promising candidates for synthesizing high performance desalination membranes. These materials can potentially achieve water fluxes of several orders of magnitude higher compared to the state-of-the-art thin-film composite polyamide reverse osmosis membranes. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of the current progresses and challenges in synthesizing aquaporin-based and carbon-based membranes. After a detailed review of the material properties of aquaporin proteins, carbon nanotubes, nanoporous graphene and graphene oxide, a general framework of membrane design and material incorporation is established. The fabrication methods and separation performance for each type of membrane are summarized. Future perspectives of aquaporin-based and carbon-based membranes are discussed in lieu with their ultimate separation performance and commercial scalability.