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Polymers
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Advanced Polymeric Membranes: From Fabrication to Application
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Advanced Polymeric Membranes: From Fabrication to Application

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 2492

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jian Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: membrane separation technology; molecularly imprinted membrane
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yingying Qin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: photocatalytic membrane; organic framework material

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of advanced polymeric membranes has revolutionized separation technologies, offering sustainable and energy-efficient solutions across industries such as water treatment, gas separation, biomedical applications, and renewable energy systems. This Special Issue, titled "Advanced Polymeric Membranes: From Fabrication to Application", aims to showcase cutting-edge research and innovations in the design, fabrication, and application of polymer-based membranes, encompassing, but not limited to, the following:

  • Novel materials;
  • Advanced manufacturing techniques;
  • Emerging characterization methods;
  • Advanced membrane processes;
  • Computational modeling.

Researchers are encouraged to submit original articles, reviews, and short communications that highlight breakthroughs in membrane technology, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration toward next-generation separation systems.

Dr. Jian Lu
Dr. Yingying Qin
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. 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

  • membrane separation technology
  • polymeric membrane
  • membrane material
  • membrane structure
  • membrane characterization
  • membrane process
  • computational modeling

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 9641 KB  
Article
Dual-Layer PDMS/Polysulfone Composite Membranes Incorporating Cu-MOF-74 for Enhanced CO2 Capture Performance
by Shoaib Ahsan, Muhammad Ahsan, Tayyaba Noor, Sarah Farrukh and Subhan Ali
Polymers 2026, 18(11), 1303; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18111303 - 26 May 2026
Viewed by 321
Abstract
Polymeric membranes are widely investigated for CO2 separation; however, their performance is often limited by the permeability–selectivity trade-off. Incorporating metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and designing composite membrane architectures are promising strategies to overcome these limitations. This study aims to evaluate the effect of [...] Read more.
Polymeric membranes are widely investigated for CO2 separation; however, their performance is often limited by the permeability–selectivity trade-off. Incorporating metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and designing composite membrane architectures are promising strategies to overcome these limitations. This study aims to evaluate the effect of incorporating MOF-74 (Cu and Ni variants) into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) selective layer supported on a polysulfone (PSF) membrane for enhanced CO2/N2 separation performance. Dual-layer PDMS/PSF composite membranes were fabricated via phase inversion for the PSF support, followed by solution casting of the PDMS/MOF layer. The developed membrane architecture introduces a synergistic design that combines the mechanical robustness of PSF with the selective transport capability of PDMS and the strong CO2 affinity of MOF-74, offering an effective strategy for improving gas separation efficiency. Gas permeation performance was assessed using single-gas CO2 and N2 measurements at feed pressures of 2–5 bar. The incorporation of MOF-74 improved CO2 transport properties, with the 1 wt.% Cu-MOF-74 composite membrane achieving a CO2 permeance of 912.5 GPU and a CO2/N2 ideal selectivity of 94.75. The dual-layer configuration significantly enhanced permeance compared with unsupported mixed-matrix membranes while maintaining selectivity. Additionally, the composite membranes exhibited improved mechanical strength due to the PSF support layer. The findings demonstrate that dual-layer PDMS/PSF composite membranes incorporating MOF-74 provide a promising proof-of-concept approach for improving CO2 separation performance. Further studies involving mixed-gas testing and long-term stability are required to assess their practical applicability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Membranes: From Fabrication to Application)
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17 pages, 5127 KB  
Article
Synergistic Adsorption–Filtration of Aromatic Pollutants via Biodegradable PLA/MIL-68(Al) Mixed-Matrix Membranes
by Jiangchun Qin, Lina Dong, Hengyan Tian, Fei Yang, Jiayang Hu, Dengbang Jiang and Zhonghui Zhang
Polymers 2026, 18(10), 1177; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18101177 - 11 May 2026
Viewed by 613
Abstract
The complete removal of persistent aromatic organic pollutants from aqueous environments demands the development of sustainable and highly efficient filtration materials. In this study, novel bio-sourced mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) were successfully fabricated by incorporating the highly porous metal–organic framework MIL-68(Al) into a biodegradable [...] Read more.
The complete removal of persistent aromatic organic pollutants from aqueous environments demands the development of sustainable and highly efficient filtration materials. In this study, novel bio-sourced mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) were successfully fabricated by incorporating the highly porous metal–organic framework MIL-68(Al) into a biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) matrix via a solvent-induced phase inversion method. The integration of MIL-68(Al) nanoparticles significantly tailored the membrane’s morphological structure, endowing the hybrid membranes with enhanced surface hydrophilicity (water contact angle reduced from 90.3° to 72.7°) and superior permeability. The pure water flux reached an optimal value of 42.2 L m−2 h−1 at a 15 wt.% MOF loading. Crucially, the hybrid membranes exhibited exceptionally high adsorptive removal performance for p-nitrophenol (PNP) and methylene blue (MB). Driven by the abundant accessible active sites of the MOF filler, the MIL-20/PLA membrane achieved a maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of 121.03 μg/cm2 (36.90 mg/g) for PNP, representing a remarkable 25.7-fold enhancement over the pristine PLA membrane. Kinetic analyses confirmed that the adsorption process is strictly governed by pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicating a chemisorption mechanism dominated by hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking interactions. Furthermore, the optimized membranes demonstrated outstanding dynamic filtration efficiencies (>80%) and robust regenerability over multiple continuous operating cycles. This work not only highlights the synergistic interfacial effects between MOFs and biodegradable polymers but also provides a highly effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable membrane platform for the advanced remediation of organic-contaminated wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Membranes: From Fabrication to Application)
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20 pages, 2685 KB  
Article
Synthesis and Gas Permeability of Polynorbornene Dicarboximides Bearing Sulfonyl Moieties
by Alejandro Onchi, Lisandra Rubio-Rangel, Arlette A. Santiago, Brian Omar Marín-Méndez, Mar López-González and Joel Vargas
Polymers 2026, 18(1), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18010062 - 25 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1112
Abstract
This work reports on the synthesis and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of two novel homologous sulfonyl-containing norbornene dicarboximide monomers, specifically, N-4-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)phenyl-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1a) and N-4-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)phenyl-7-oxanorbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1b) using the Grubbs 2nd generation catalyst (I). The polymers are [...] Read more.
This work reports on the synthesis and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of two novel homologous sulfonyl-containing norbornene dicarboximide monomers, specifically, N-4-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)phenyl-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1a) and N-4-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)phenyl-7-oxanorbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (1b) using the Grubbs 2nd generation catalyst (I). The polymers are thoroughly characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), among other techniques. A comparative study of gas transport in membranes based on these ROMP-prepared polymers is performed and the gases studied are hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ethylene and propylene. It is found that the presence of sulfonyl pendant groups in the polymer backbone increases the gas permselectivity in slight detriment of the gas permeability compared to a polynorbornene dicarboximide lacking sulfonyl groups. The membrane of the sulfonyl-containing polymer with an oxygen heteroatom in the cyclopentane ring, 2b, is also found to have one of the largest permselectivity coefficients reported to date for the separation of H2/C3H6 in glassy polynorbornene dicarboximides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Membranes: From Fabrication to Application)
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