Surface and Interface Engineering of Membrane Composites

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Surfaces and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 2069

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation, Technical University of Liberec, Studentská 1402/2, 461 17 Liberec, Czech Republic
Interests: physico-chemistry; laser synthesis of nanomaterials; surface modification of nanomaterials; membranes; wastewater treatment
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the years, surface and interface engineering have consistently been employed to control membrane composites' physicochemical properties. The structural manipulation of the composing elements through the bottom-up, top-down, or sequential combination of both strategies enables the improvement of properties such as electronic conduction, chemical reactivity, photonic response, mechanical deformation, and the adhesion/rejection of external bodies. The progress in understanding the impact these engineering practices have on the modification of materials' properties plays a pivotal role in diverse applications employing nanocomposite membranes.

This is the case for fields such as sensor development; ionic exchange; catalysis; pollutant adsorption, rejection, and separation; photonic crystal integration; solar radiation harvesting; drug delivery; bacterial control; and fuel cell improvement.

Considering the significant repercussions of these applications on human well-being, we invite authors to contribute original communications, research, and comprehensive review articles to this Special Issue dedicated to highlighting the latest breakthroughs in the “Surface and Interface Engineering of Membrane Composites”. This issue aims to promote and strengthen the development of the most significant advances made by the composite membrane community, with special attention paid to surface and interface processes and their improvement towards technology transfer, thus bridging the gap between research and real-world use.

Dr. Rafael Torres-Mendieta
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • membrane surface
  • membrane interface
  • composite membranes
  • nanocomposite membranes
  • surface modification
  • interface engineering
  • surface properties
  • mixed-matrix membranes
  • pore-engineering
  • self-assembly
  • wound-healing
  • bio-composites
  • interfacial cross-linking
  • reverse-osmosis
  • membrane ultrafiltration
  • membrane water-purification
  • hydrophilic modification
  • sensitive membranes
  • fouling
  • hydrodynamic permeability
  • fuel cells
  • sensors
  • ionic exchange
  • catalysis
  • pollutant degradation
  • pollutant adsorption
  • pollutant rejection
  • pollutant separation
  • photonic crystal integration
  • solar radiation harvesting
  • drug delivery
  • bacterial control

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 8839 KiB  
Article
Facile Preparation of Durable and Eco-Friendly Superhydrophobic Filter with Self-Healing Ability for Efficient Oil/Water Separation
by Wei Xin Voo, Woon Chan Chong, Hui Chieh Teoh, Woei Jye Lau, Yi Jing Chan and Ying Tao Chung
Membranes 2023, 13(9), 793; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13090793 - 13 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1699
Abstract
The superhydrophobic feature is highly desirable for oil/water separation (OWS) operation to achieve excellent separation efficiency. However, using hazardous materials in fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces is always the main concern. Herein, superhydrophobic filters were prepared via an eco-friendly approach by anchoring silica particles (SiO [...] Read more.
The superhydrophobic feature is highly desirable for oil/water separation (OWS) operation to achieve excellent separation efficiency. However, using hazardous materials in fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces is always the main concern. Herein, superhydrophobic filters were prepared via an eco-friendly approach by anchoring silica particles (SiO2) onto the cotton fabric surface, followed by surface coating using natural material—myristic acid via a dip coating method. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was used in the synthesis of SiO2 particles from the silica sol. In addition, the impact of the drying temperature on the wettability of the superhydrophobic filter was investigated. Moreover, the pristine cotton fabric and as-prepared superhydrophobic cotton filters were characterised based on Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and contact angle (CA) measurement. The superhydrophobic cotton filter was used to perform OWS using an oil-water mixture containing either chloroform, hexane, toluene, xylene or dichloroethane. The separation efficiency of the OWS using the superhydrophobic filter was as high as 99.9%. Moreover, the superhydrophobic fabric filter also demonstrated excellent durability, chemical stability, self-healing ability and reusability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface and Interface Engineering of Membrane Composites)
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