Design of omniphobic interfaces for membrane distillation - A review

Membrane distillation (MD) has a great potential in treating high salinity industrial wastewater due to its unique characteristics. Nevertheless, the implementation of MD for industrial wastewater reclamation must be conducted with precaution because low-surface-tension contaminates in feed solutions may easily wet the membranes. In recent years, omniphobic membranes that exhibit strong repellence towards liquids with a wide range of surface tensions have been proposed as a promising solution to deal with the wetting problem. In this paper, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of omniphobic interfaces and illustrate their fundamental working principles, innovative design approaches and novel applications on membrane distillation. The review may provide insights in designing stable solid-liquid-vapor interfaces and serve as a guidance for the development of robust anti-wetting membranes for industrial wastewater reclamation via membrane distillation.