Nanocomposite nanofiltration membranes: State of play and recent advances

Much research has been carried out in recent years to investigate the use of nanomaterials as fillers in polymeric nanofiltration membranes, to improve water transport and fouling resistance whilst preserving, where possible, selectivity. This review paper considers the background to this research, including membrane fabrication and incorporation of various nanomaterials and the additional functionalities achieved by nanomaterial incorporation, followed by a critical review of the recent literature in this area. The research efforts which have accumulated in recent years shows great promise for improving the transport and fouling properties of NF membranes for a variety of applications, but this field is still immature and shows much room for further research. Despite this, caution must be made to ensure that research is focussed on practical solutions, capable of being scaled up within commercially acceptable constraints.