Nanoporous materials in polymeric membranes for desalination

Pressure-driven membrane desalination processes require new membranes that have increased energy-efficiency, perm-selectivity, resistance to chlorine, and resistance to fouling. Incorporation of nanoporous materials (e.g. zeolites, metal–organic frameworks, and graphene-based materials) into the state-of-the-art polyamide-based thin film composite (TFC) membranes is one strategy to address these challenges. This requires effectively incorporating nanomaterials into the polymer structure and understanding the true impact of the nanomaterials on membrane performances. Studies from 2015 to 2017 have revealed that thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes with nanoporous materials (a sub-class of mixed matrix membranes), to some extent, address these desalination membrane challenges.