Membrane technology has dramatically advanced over the past 50 years by combining advances in materials with innovative module design and an increasingly deeper understanding of the associated transport phenomena. More recently two-dimensional (2D)-material nano-porous membranes, typically represented by graphene and its derivatives, have attracted vast interest and are generally believed to have great potential. Thin film composite membranes (which might be considered to be an earlier generation of 2D membranes) have also been further developed with modern applications such as forward osmosis to the fore. Whether or not 2D membranes of either type will open up a new era at an industrial scale will depend upon module and process design as well as further materials development. Due to the potential importance of these membranes, this thematic collection will cover state-of-art research on 2D membranes: the materials, their separation performance and associated process considerations.
Lead Guest Editor: Robert Field, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Guest Editor: Gongping Liu, Nanjing Tech University, China