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Membranes
Special Issues
Functionalized Membranes: New Trends in Preparation and Advanced Applications
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Functionalized Membranes: New Trends in Preparation and Advanced Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 2207

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Clàudia Fontàs

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi, 17003 Girona, Spain
Interests: separation processes based on functionalized membranes; supported liquid membranes; polymer inclusion membranes; membrane systems for the clean-up of natural waters and industrial wastewaters; physico-chemical and electrical characterization of membranes; environmental and industrial sampling and analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Enriqueta Anticó

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi, 17003 Girona, Spain
Interests: separation techniques; water quality; functionalized membranes; metals; organic pollutants; gas chromatography
Dr. Magdalena Cifuentes Cabezas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montilivi, 17003 Girona, Spain
Interests: environment; membrane processes; industrial wastewater tratment; membrane process modeling; recovery of high-value compounds from wastewater; physical–chemical separation processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functionalized membranes—membranes that have been chemically or physically modified to enhance specific properties—represent a cutting-edge area in membrane science.

Emerging functionalization strategies, such as surface modification, polymer grafting, and the incorporation of active or hybrid components, enable the design of membranes with tailored functionalities. These modifications can substantially improve membrane performance by increasing selectivity, permeability, chemical and mechanical stability, or catalytic activity.

Examples include ion-exchange membranes, polymer inclusion membranes, supported liquid membranes, mixed-matrix membranes, molecularly imprinted membranes, and catalytic membranes, among others. As a result, functionalized membranes are increasingly applied in a wide range of environmental and industrial processes, including water treatment, resource recovery, gas separation, and chemical synthesis.

Despite their potential, further research is needed to develop more sustainable materials and scalable fabrication methods, broaden their applications, and address key challenges like long-term stability, fouling, and degradation under real-world conditions.

We invite original research papers, short communications, and review articles that explore innovative strategies for membrane fabrication, advanced characterization techniques, and novel applications. Topics of particular interest include the following:

  • Membrane fabrication and characterization: green synthesis, stability and reusability, characterization techniques, and more.
  • Functionalization strategies: surface chemical modification; grafting; and extractant immobilization, among others.
  • Membrane applications: analytical, environmental, industrial, water treatment, and others.

This Special Issue seeks to offer a comprehensive perspective on the current state of the art, highlighting key challenges and outlining future directions in the development and application of functionalized membranes. It is launched within the framework of the upcoming 1st International Symposium on Functionalized Membranes (ISFMEM 2025) (Girona, Spain, 7–10 October 2025), which will bring together researchers to discuss the latest advances in the field.

Dr. Clàudia Fontàs
Dr. Enriqueta Anticó
Dr. Magdalena Cifuentes Cabezas
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.

Keywords

  • functionalized membranes
  • membrane modification
  • sustainable membranes
  • water treatment
  • advanced applications

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1860 KB  
Article
Effect of Glass Fibers on the Mechanical and Transport Properties of Polymer Inclusion Membranes Composed of Aliquat 336 and PVDF-HFP
by Lea Kukoc, Kalina Velikova, Sanja Perinovic-Jozic, Maja Biocic, Milen Gateshki, Spas D. Kolev and Tony G. Spassov
Membranes 2026, 16(4), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes16040141 - 1 Apr 2026
Viewed by 665
Abstract
Polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) based on PVDF-HFP as the base polymer and Aliquat 336 as the carrier in a mass ratio of 6:4 with concentrations of embedded glass fibers up to 5 wt% were successfully fabricated. Their microstructure, as well as their mechanical [...] Read more.
Polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) based on PVDF-HFP as the base polymer and Aliquat 336 as the carrier in a mass ratio of 6:4 with concentrations of embedded glass fibers up to 5 wt% were successfully fabricated. Their microstructure, as well as their mechanical and thermal properties, were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetric analysis (DTA/TGA), and tensile testing. Membrane performance and long-term stability in transporting thiocyanate ions were evaluated in a two-compartment transport cell. The results showed that the membranes retained their amorphous structure even with glass-fiber loadings of up to 5 wt%. The addition of glass fibers was found to primarily enhance the elastic modulus and tensile strength, while causing a moderate reduction in plasticity without negatively affecting membrane transport properties and long-term stability. Therefore, it was concluded that the incorporation of glass fibers could improve the suitability of PIMs for industrial applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Membranes: New Trends in Preparation and Advanced Applications)
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20 pages, 7533 KB  
Article
A Novel Supported Polymer Inclusion Membrane Concept for Reagent-Efficient Membrane Design
by Nasim Khatir, Enriqueta Anticó and Clàudia Fontàs
Membranes 2026, 16(4), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes16040135 - 1 Apr 2026
Viewed by 713
Abstract
This work explores, for the first time, a novel strategy for the preparation of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) based on their deposition onto porous supporting substrates, introducing the concept of supported PIMs as a reagent-efficient alternative to conventional free-standing membranes. The approach aims [...] Read more.
This work explores, for the first time, a novel strategy for the preparation of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) based on their deposition onto porous supporting substrates, introducing the concept of supported PIMs as a reagent-efficient alternative to conventional free-standing membranes. The approach aims to improve the sustainability of PIM fabrication by significantly reducing the amount of polymer and extractant required while preserving membrane functionality. PIMs were prepared using the two most widely employed base polymers, cellulose triacetate (CTA) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), with Aliquat 336 as extractant. The total reagent consumption was reduced to half of the conventional formulation for CTA-based membranes and to one quarter for PVC-based membranes. Two porous supports with contrasting physicochemical properties—a hydrophilic cellulose filter paper and a hydrophobic Durapore® PVDF membrane—were investigated. The supported membranes were characterized by contact angle measurements, SEM, FTIR, and TGA, confirming the successful integration of the PIM phase onto the porous supports without chemical alteration. Arsenate (As(V)) transport, preconcentration, and membrane reusability were evaluated. CTA-based supported PIMs exhibited transport efficiencies of approximately 90–95%, comparable to free-standing PIMs, whereas PVC-based systems showed a stronger dependence on membrane loading. Notably, CTA-based Durapore®–PIMs retained around 70% transport efficiency after three reuse cycles. These results demonstrate the feasibility of supported PIMs as a strategy for reducing membrane material consumption while preserving functional performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Membranes: New Trends in Preparation and Advanced Applications)
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