polymers-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Advanced Polymeric Materials for Water Purification

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2026 | Viewed by 1593

Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water pollution has become a multifaceted global crisis, and addressing this issue requires more advanced water purification materials and technologies. The history of water purification encompasses a wide variety of methods, which are often based on advanced materials. Polymers are crucial in water purification for membrane filtration, coagulation/flocculation, scale inhibition, and the removal of specific pollutants through adsorption, ion exchange, and antimicrobial action, leveraging properties like controlled porosity, surface charge, and chemical affinity for sustainable, efficient contaminant removal at various stages of water treatment. Recent years have seen significant advancements in polymer science and engineering, including but not limited to sustainability (bio-based, recyclable), smart functionalities (self-healing, sensing, photochromic), and advanced composites (nanomaterials, hybrid matrices), driven by AI in discovery, 3D printing, and electrospinning, creating lighter, stronger, and more functional materials. These new progresses present new opportunities for the development of next-generation high-performance polymer materials and devices for water purification.

This Special Issue will feature a series of research and review documents that explore “Advanced Polymeric Materials for Water Purification” from different perspectives, covering membrane filtration, coagulation and flocculation, adsorption, ion exchange, antimicrobial action, and other water purification-related fields, with particular attention to material design, process optimization, and application exploration. The aim is to represent the state of the art and provide systematic information on structure–property relationships. We look forward to receiving contributions dealing with the related research fields. We hope this inspiring initiative will encourage your participation in advancing fundamental knowledge related to innovative and sustainable polymeric materials and technologies for water purification.

Prof. Dr. Gang Han
Guest Editor

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • polymers
  • water purification
  • membrane filtration
  • adsorption
  • ion exchange
  • coagulation and flocculation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 4414 KB  
Article
Heterojunction FeTiO3/BiOCl Photocatalytic Polymer Film in an Airlift Reactor: Efficient Visible-Light Degradation of Pharmaceutical Pollutant
by Nergiz Kanmaz, Nese Cakir Yigit and Özlem Tuna
Polymers 2026, 18(10), 1246; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18101246 - 20 May 2026
Viewed by 429
Abstract
The development of durable and practical polymer-supported photocatalytic materials that are suitable for use in continuous-flow systems has become an increasingly pressing issue in the field of water treatment. In this study, FeTiO3/BiOCl heterojunction structures were synthesized at different ratios and [...] Read more.
The development of durable and practical polymer-supported photocatalytic materials that are suitable for use in continuous-flow systems has become an increasingly pressing issue in the field of water treatment. In this study, FeTiO3/BiOCl heterojunction structures were synthesized at different ratios and integrated into a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix to develop photocatalytic thin-film systems. The resulting materials were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) analyses. In photocatalytic experiments conducted under visible light, a 66.3% removal of doxycycline was achieved for pristine FeTiO3 within 180 min, whilst the FTO@BiOCl(III) composite reached 74.4%. In the PVDF-based thin-film system, the film catalyst demonstrated a removal efficiency of 68.9%. When the pH effect was investigated, the highest total removal of 90.3% was achieved under pH 6.0 conditions. Radical scavenging experiments revealed that superoxide radicals were the predominant active species (a decrease to 30.5% in the presence of benzoquinone (BQ). In experiments conducted in the air-lift reactor system, the P-FTO@BiOCl(III) film achieved approximately 65% removal after 9 h and maintained its structural stability. The PVDF-supported FeTiO3/BiOCl heterojunction thin-film system offers a noteworthy alternative for environmental applications due to its suitability for continuous systems, structural stability and effective photocatalytic performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Materials for Water Purification)
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3534 KB  
Article
Antifouling Polysulfone/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Terbium Oxide Nanocomposite Nanofiltration Membrane for Dye Removal Applications
by Abeer M. Alosaimi
Polymers 2026, 18(10), 1165; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18101165 - 9 May 2026
Viewed by 769
Abstract
Polysulfone (PSF) nanofiltration membranes incorporating oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (o–MWCNTs) and terbium oxide (Tb2O3) nanoparticles were fabricated via the non-solvent-induced phase inversion technique. The effect of Tb2O3 loading (0, 1, 3, and 5% w/w [...] Read more.
Polysulfone (PSF) nanofiltration membranes incorporating oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (o–MWCNTs) and terbium oxide (Tb2O3) nanoparticles were fabricated via the non-solvent-induced phase inversion technique. The effect of Tb2O3 loading (0, 1, 3, and 5% w/w) on membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, water permeability, dye rejection, and antibiofouling performance was systematically investigated. Membrane structure was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, XRD, and water contact angle measurements. The results confirmed the successful incorporation of Tb2O3 within the membrane matrix, and morphological analysis revealed a relatively dense membrane structure without macrovoid formation. Filtration experiments conducted in a dead-end cell under pressures of 1–4 bar demonstrated a maximum water flux of 53 L m−2 h−1, with dye rejection exceeding 99.9% for both methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) at 4 bar. Antibiofouling performance, evaluated by colony-forming unit analysis, revealed bacterial growth reductions of 59% against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and 89% against Gram-positive Candida albicans, attributed to the dark-active generation of reactive oxygen species by Tb2O3, eliminating the need for UV irradiation. These results demonstrate that the synergistic integration of o–MWCNTs and Tb2O3 effectively addresses the permeability-selectivity trade-off and mitigates biofouling limitations associated with pristine PSF membranes, thereby offering a promising multifunctional platform for sustainable industrial wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Materials for Water Purification)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop