New Trends in Polymer Inclusion Membranes 2.0

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs), in which a carrier is entrapped in a polymeric matrix either in the presence or absence of a plasticizer, have gained attention in recent years due to their specific advantages, such as easy synthesis, effective carrier immobilization, versatility, and good mechanical properties, among others. They are recognized as membranes with outstanding efficiency factors (permeability, selectivity, and stability) and thought to be an alternative to liquid membranes, in which the extracting phase is immobilized within the pores of a polymeric support. Although the main applications of PIMs have been focused on the extraction and separation processes of metal ions and small organic molecules, and most published work reports rely on the facilitated extraction and transport of them, as well as ion-selective membrane electrodes for potentiometric measurements, other important areas of application are emerging every day. These include optode and catalyzer development, their inclusion in energy conversion and passive sampling devices, their applications in speciation measurements and mimicking metal accumulation in organisms and biofilms, their use in sample pretreatment methods, e.g., electromembrane extraction, and nanoparticle synthesis. In addition to cellulose triacetate (CTA) or poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as commonly used supports, new ones are now employed as polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene triblock co-polymer (SBS) or poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP). In addition, new approaches for their synthesis based on diluent-free methods and using green solvents have been recently proposed. PIM characterization by several analytical techniques (e.g., backscattering spectrometry, AFM, FTIR, X-ray, SEM, DSC, TGA, transmission infrared mapping microscopy (TIMM), Far-IR, Raman, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS)) and the application of theoretical schemes to model transport behavior have been employed to conceptualize the interactions, distribution, and behavior of the membrane components, and to identify correlations between membrane structure and transport performance. The understanding of the role that the different PIM components play in membrane transport to facilitate the design of membrane systems for particular applications has been an important area of study in PIM research.

This Special Issue will present a comprehensive overview of the inclusion of PIMs in novel applications, the new synthetic routes, the incorporation of novel carriers, supports, and plasticizers, the progress in integration between PIM characterization and transport performance understanding, to show the progress recently made in PIM technology. All aspects that contribute to successful advancements in designing, understanding, and applying PIMs are of interest and welcome to submission.

I am positive about the impact that this Special Issue will have in the PIM community and how it will serve as a reference for future development.

Prof. Dr. Eduardo Rodríguez de San Miguel Guerrero
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• novel materials for PIMs
• new fabrication schemes
• nTransport characterization and modeling
• applications: passive sampling, catalyst, nanoparticle synthesis, optodes, electrodes, mimicking of biosystems, energy conversion, speciation analysis, sample pretreatment methods
• transport and separation
• sensors
• PIM characterization methods and interpretation