Meier-Haack, Jochen

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Repositorium für Naturwissenschaften und Technik  (TIB Hannover)

Citation: Meier-Haack, J. SpecialIssue: New Challenges in Thin-FilmNanocomposite Membranes. Coatings2022, 12, 1169. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12081169Received: 1 August 2022Accepted: 10 August 2022Published: 12 August 2022Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralwith regard to jurisdictional claims inpublished maps and institutional affil-iations.Copyright: © 2022 by the author.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).coatingsEditorialSpecial Issue: New Challenges in Thin-FilmNanocomposite MembranesJochen Meier-Haack *Department Processing Technology, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e. V.,01069 Dresden, GermanyRapid population growth and the associated rise in industrialization and food pro-duction have resulted in a tremendously increased demand for clean water. Thin-filmcomposite (TFC) membranes have become an important technique in producing and supply-ing clean water from different resources, such as sea water, brackish water or contaminatedfresh water, by reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF). Additionally, forward osmosis(FO) is an emerging technology for water and food processing wherein TFC membranesare used. While RO and NF are pressure-driven separation processes, a salinity gradient isthe driving force for water flux in forward osmosis. FO has great potential as a pretreat-ment step in RO by diluting the feed water and thus reducing the osmotic pressure andconsequently the energy demand of the whole process. The active separation layer of thesetypes of membranes, which typically consists of a highly cross-linked polyamide preparedvia interfacial polymerization, is susceptible to fouling and degradation by chlorine [1].The latter is periodically used for cleaning purposes. Furthermore, TFC membranes show arelatively low productivity and trade-off between water permeability and selectivity. Toovercome these drawbacks, the special properties of nanomaterials (NMs)/nanoparticles(NPs) have stimulated significant research on membrane modification in recent decades. Abroad variety of NMs/NPs, either inorganic, e.g., carbon-based carbon nanotubes (CNTs),graphene oxide (GO), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and metal oxides, metallic (e.g.,Ag, Cu) or organic NMs/NPs, such as cellulose or covalent organic frameworks (COFs),have been extensively employed and are the focus of several review articles in the liter-ature [2–5]. These nanomaterials can be incorporated into TFC membranes via severalmodes, such as (a) incorporation of NMs into the PA layer during the interfacial polymer-ization step, (b) coating of the PA layer with NMs, (c) modifying the substrate with NMsand (d) preparation of an interlayer from NMs between the substrate and the PA layer [2].The incorporation of nanoparticles or nanomaterials into the surface of TFC mem-branes aims to enhance permeate (water) flux, increase the rejection of solutes and mitigatefouling. In particular, CNTs [6] and graphene oxide [7,8] confer higher hydrophilicityon the membrane surface, therefore lowering the fouling tendency accompanied by anincrease in water permeability [9]. A similar effect is observed when nanoparticles with adefined pore size, such as silica [10], zeolites [11], MOFs [12], COFs [13], titanate nanotubes(TNTs) [14] or halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) [15], a naturally occurring mineral clay, areused for membrane modification.While the nanomaterials mentioned above can be considered passive in terms ofbactericidal properties, the bactericidal activity of metals such as silver or metal oxides,including TiO2 [16], CuO [17] and ZnO [18], arises from the formation of reactive oxygenspecies upon irradiation with light (TiO2), the application of mechanical disruptive stressto the cell walls of bacteria or by releasing metal ions (Ag, Cu) [19,20]. In addition, theincorporation of nanomaterials into the active separation layer may affect the polymeriza-tion process and the polymer network arrangement, thus impacting the permeate flux andsolute rejection [21].Coatings 2022, 12, 1169. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12081169 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/coatingsCoatings 2022, 12, 1169 2 of 3To achieve high efficacy, on the one hand, the right nanoparticles must be chosen. Onthe other hand, such nanoparticles must be properly incorporated into the active layer oron the surface of the active separation layer. In addition, the stability of the composites andenvironmental aspects such as toxicity must be considered when preparing new thin-filmnanocomposite membranes [22–24].Although remarkable progress in the development of thin-film nanocomposite mem-branes has been achieved in the past, as outlined by a huge number of publications, thereare still open questions and new developments in this field of research. This Special Issueon “New Challenges in Thin-Film Nanocomposite Membranes” offers researchers theopportunity to publish their latest research results as well as reviews. Topics covered bythis Special Issue include, but are not limited to:• The preparation of stable nanocomposite TFC membranes.• The effect of nanoparticles on membrane properties such as water permeability, selec-tivity and fouling behavior.• The description of the mechanism of action of nanoparticles in view of transport,selectivity and antifouling properties.• Theoretical aspects and simulation of water–salt transport in nanoparticle-modifiedTFC membranes.Funding: This research received no external funding.Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.References1. Kim, M.; Kim, M.; Park, B.; Kim, S. 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Special Issue: New Challenges in Thin-Film Nanocomposite Membranes

Rapid population growth and the associated rise in industrialization and food production have resulted in a tremendously increased demand for clean water

Jochen Meier-Haack

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute

https://oa.tib.eu/renate/bitstream/123456789/10453/1/Special_Issue_New_Challenges.pdf

Special Issue: New Challenges in Thin-Film Nanocomposite Membranes

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Repositorium für Naturwissenschaften und Technik (TIB Hannover)

Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute