Advances in Membrane Technology for Ion Separation

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials in Separation Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026 | Viewed by 7

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Interests: design and preparation of new membrane materials; new membrane technologies; membrane separation mechanism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing demand for critical resource recovery (e.g., lithium, rare earth elements), water security, and environmental remediation underscores the urgent need for precise and energy-efficient ion separation technologies. In this context, membrane-based processes have emerged as a pivotal solution for selective ion removal and fractionation.

This Special Issue focuses on fundamental and applied breakthroughs in ion-selective membranes. We invite contributions addressing the following topics:

  • Novel membrane materials (MOFs, COFs, biomimetic channels, graphene oxides, hybrid polymers);
  • Advanced fabrication/modification techniques for enhanced selectivity, separation efficiency, and stability;
  • Mechanistic studies of ion transport and separation phenomena;
  • Process innovations in electrodialysis, nanofiltration, selective electro-membranes, and hybrid systems;
  • Applications in mineral extraction, industrial wastewater valorization, battery recycling, and acid/base recovery;
  • Sustainability analyses: energy efficiency, fouling mitigation, and lifecycle assessment.

We welcome original research, reviews, and case studies demonstrating real-world implementation. This issue aims to bridge material innovation with process engineering to address global challenges in resource circularity and water quality.

Dr. Pengjia Dou
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 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. Separations 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 2600 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
  • ion separation
  • ion-selective membranes
  • electro-membrane processes
  • resource recovery
  • water purification
  • wastewater treatment
  • novel membrane materials
  • biomimetic nanochannels
  • ion separation mechanism

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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