Functional Composite Membranes: Properties and 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 December 2025 | Viewed by 696

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering (CIT), KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Interests: nanofiltration membrane; resource recovery; industrial water treatment; catalytic membrane

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117575, Singapore
Interests: water treatment; thermal management; wearable electronics; energy harvesting

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional composite membranes combine two or more materials to enhance separation performance, stability, and functionality, making them key components in a wide range of membrane-based technologies. This Special Issue focuses on recent advances in the design, fabrication, and application of composite membranes tailored for specific tasks such as water purification, gas separation, energy storage, biomedical use, and environmental remediation. By integrating polymers, ceramics, carbon-based materials, or metal–organic frameworks, researchers can fine-tune membrane structure and surface properties to improve selectivity, permeability, antifouling ability, and mechanical strength. The issue will cover both experimental and theoretical studies that explore the relationships between structure and function, novel fabrication methods, and emerging applications. Contributions highlighting sustainable materials, green processes, or scalable production techniques are also encouraged. Through this collection, we aim to provide a platform on which researchers can share their insights and promote the development of next-generation composite membranes for practical and high-impact applications.

Dr. Qieyuan Gao
Dr. Shuai Guo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • water treatment
  • energy harvesting
  • nanoparticles
  • 2D materials
  • integrated innovation
  • membrane technology alliance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 10073 KB  
Article
Defect Engineering in Fluorinated Metal–Organic Frameworks Within Mixed-Matrix Membranes for Enhanced CO2 Separation
by Benxing Li, Lei Wang, Yizheng Tao, Rujing Hou and Yichang Pan
Membranes 2025, 15(10), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes15100296 - 30 Sep 2025
Viewed by 290
Abstract
Developing highly permeable and selective membranes for energy-efficient CO2/CH4 separation remains challenging. Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) integrating polymer matrices with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer significant potential. However, rational filler–matrix matching presents substantial difficulties, constraining separation performance. In this work, defects were [...] Read more.
Developing highly permeable and selective membranes for energy-efficient CO2/CH4 separation remains challenging. Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) integrating polymer matrices with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer significant potential. However, rational filler–matrix matching presents substantial difficulties, constraining separation performance. In this work, defects were engineered within fluorinated MOF ZU-61 through the partial replacement of 4,4′-bipyridine linkers with pyridine modulators, producing high-porosity HP-ZU-61 nanoparticles exhibiting a 267% BET surface area enhancement (992.9 m2 g−1) over low-porosity ZU-61 (LP-ZU-61) (372.2 m2 g−1). The HP-ZU-61/6FDA-DAM MMMs (30 wt.%) demonstrated homogeneous filler dispersion and pre-served crystallinity, achieving a CO2 permeability of 1626 barrer and CO2/CH4 selectivity (33), surpassing the 2008 Robeson upper bound. Solution-diffusion modeling indicated ligand deficiencies generated accelerated diffusion pathways, while defect-induced unsaturated metal sites functioned as strong CO2 adsorption centers that maintained solubility selectivity. This study establishes defect engineering in fluorinated MOF-based MMMs as a practical strategy to concurrently overcome the permeability–selectivity trade-off for efficient CO2 capture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Composite Membranes: Properties and Applications)
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