Design, Preparation and Application of Nanocomposite Membranes
A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Fabrication and Characterization".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 938
Special Issue Editors
Interests: analytical chemistry; chromatography; water quality; separation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: advanced membranes; nanomaterials; environmental chemistry; mine wastewater treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Compounds such as pharmaceutically active compounds, pesticides, surfactants, and personal care products are classified as trace organic compounds. As such, they often present a challenge for researchers in terms of their quantification and removal in water matrices. However, the detection and removal of these pollutants is imperative for the safe disposal of wastewater and its potential reuse. Consequently, advanced technologies, such as membrane separation, are necessary for the preconcentration and removal of these active compounds.
For trace organic compound preconcentration, various sample preparation approaches are utilised prior to their determination, including stir-bar adsorptive microextraction, ultrasound-assisted cloud-point microextraction, solid-phase extraction, gas flow-assisted dispersive liquid-phase microextraction, thin-film microextraction, and membrane solid-phase extraction.
The membrane separation or treatment process mainly depends on three basic principles, namely adsorption, sieving, and the electrostatic phenomenon. Membrane processes such as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), forward osmosis (FO), and reverse osmosis (RO) are currently used for water reuse, brackish water, and seawater.
Polymer-based membranes are most often used; however, due to hydrophobic polymers such as polysulfone and polyethersulfone, this results in polymeric membranes prone to fouling. This can lead to blockages of the membrane pores, decreasing its performance and increasing its general operating expenses due to extra cleaning stages.
Membrane-based methods are competitive in terms of costs compared to traditional processes, as they provide a high separation efficiency, have a wide range of applications, and are constantly improving thanks to different nanocomposite materials. Nanocomposites are now commonly employed to strengthen the standard polymeric membrane materials used in water treatment processes. A number of different materials and methods have been put forward, with thin-film nanocomposites (TFNs), electrospun polymeric nanofibrous membranes, carbon nanotubes, metals and metal oxides, graphene and graphene oxide, zwitterionic materials, and metal–organic frameworks presenting the greatest promise.
This Special Issue is dedicated to original research and review papers exploring the latest developments in the field of membrane technology for the quantification and/or removal of trace organic compounds in different water matrices.
Dr. Anele Mpupa
Prof. Dr. Philiswa Nosizo Nomngongo
Dr. Azile Nqombolo
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 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.
Keywords
- membrane separation/technology
- nanocomposites
- microextraction
- emerging organic pollutants
- trace analysis
- water
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