The recent advance of precisely designed membranes for sieving

Area of Science:

• Membrane science and materials engineering.
• Nanotechnology and advanced materials.
• Separation science.

Background:

• Conventional membranes face a critical trade-off between selectivity and permeability, limiting separation efficiency.
• Advanced materials with atomic/molecular precision, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and graphene, are revolutionizing membrane development.
• These materials enable unprecedented control over membrane structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and classify state-of-the-art membranes based on their building block structures.
• To analyze the performance and applications of these advanced membranes in liquid and gas separations.
• To discuss future challenges and opportunities in the field of precisely designed membranes.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and classification of advanced membrane structures.
• Analysis of membrane performance metrics (selectivity, permeability).
• Categorization based on building block structures: laminar, framework, and channel.

Main Results:

• Membranes are classified into laminar, framework, and channel structures based on building blocks.
• Precisely designed membranes show enhanced performance in liquid and gas separations.
• Examples of advanced materials like MOFs, COFs, and graphene are highlighted for their role.

Conclusions:

• Advanced materials enable the development of high-performance membranes that overcome traditional limitations.
• Precisely structured membranes offer significant potential for various separation applications.
• Further research is needed to address challenges and capitalize on opportunities for next-generation membranes.