Chapter 8: Omniphobic Membranes: Fundamentals, Materials, and Applications
-
Published:29 Nov 2021
-
Special Collection: 2021 ebook collectionSeries: Chemistry in the Environment
T. Ni, S. Zhao, L. Kong, and J. Lin, in Advances in Functional Separation Membranes, ed. X. Li, J. Lin, and S. Zhao, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021, ch. 8, pp. 184-206.
Download citation file:
Omniphobic membranes repelling all kinds of liquids have been increasingly investigated for water treatment by membrane distillation (MD). Conventional MD membranes are hydrophobic or superhydrophobic to avoid liquid wetting and or passing through the membrane. However, these membranes cannot undergo long-term MD operation and suffer from fouling by the contaminants in the feed solution (e.g., oil, metallic salts, and biological substance). Omniphobic membranes can be ideal candidates to overcome these obstacles due to their unique properties and robustness. In general, omniphobic membranes have ultralow surface energy and re-entrant structures. These two factors contribute to the robust MD process to mitigate wetting and fouling. In this chapter, we provide a thorough understanding of omniphobic membranes, including the fundamentals of wettability, fouling mechanisms, material fabrication, and surface modification.