Advanced Metallic Membranes for Hydrogen Separation and Purification: From Material Design to Performance Optimization

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, high-purity hydrogen has attracted widespread attention due to its high energy density and clean, pollution-free characteristics. Current research is primarily focused on the synthesis and application of hydrogen in areas such as fuel cells, the semiconductor industry, photovoltaic industry, metal smelting and processing, as well as aerospace and deep-space exploration. Industrially, the main methods for producing high-purity hydrogen include pressure swing adsorption, cryogenic separation, and membrane separation. Among these, membrane separation has emerged as a preferred technological route owing to its favorable mechanical properties and high selectivity toward hydrogen. Over the years, significant progress has been made in developing new materials and fabrication techniques to enhance the performance and application range of metallic hydrogen permeation membranes. Current research efforts are focused on developing low-cost, high-performance hydrogen-permeable alloy membranes and optimizing their composition and fabrication processes to enhance hydrogen permeation performance.

This Special Issue of Membranes on “Advanced Metallic Membranes for Hydrogen Separation and Purification: From Material Design to Performance Optimization” seeks to showcase original, high-quality research and review articles that highlight the versatility and potential of metal membranes in addressing challenges in Hydrogen Separation and Purification. The scope includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Development of metallic materials for hydrogen permeation;
• Phase diagram calculation of hydrogen-permeable alloys;
• First principles calculations of hydrogen-permeable alloys;
• Functionalization of metallic membranes;
• Membrane applications in fuel cell;
• Advances in metal membranes manufacturing techniques;
• Strategies for improving permeability and optimizing resistance to hydrogen embrittlement;
• Purification technologies including metallic membranes;
• Flows modeling through metallic membranes;
• Hydrogen permeation and hydrogen embrittlement mechanism of metallic membranes;
• Real-world industrial applications.

We invite authors to submit their latest findings, offering both original research and comprehensive review articles. This Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to present innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in membrane science and engineering.

Dr. Erhu Yan
Dr. Kunjun Zhu
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.