Chapter 4: Magnetically Responsive Membrane

Membrane-based separations offer the promise of efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable separation processes. Today they fill many separations needs. As the demand for new membrane-based separation processes increases, there is an ever-increasing need for new advanced membranes. Responsive membranes are a recent development in advanced membranes, which respond to an external stimulus. Magnetically responsive membranes are examples of field responsive membranes, which respond to an external magnetic field without any requirement of mass transfer. An external magnetic field can elicit three possible responses: magnetophoretic actuation, localized heating and movement of tethered magnetic particles. The response depends on the attachment of the magnetic particles to the membrane polymer as well as the external magnetic field. Typically, magnetically responsive particles can be embedded in the membrane matrix, attached to the membrane surface or tethered via polymer brushes. To date, most studies of magnetically responsive membranes have focused on suppression of membrane fouling and drug delivery. It is likely that many more applications for magnetically responsive membranes will be developed in the future.