An Insight into Enhanced Membrane Hydrophobicity Using Silane Functionalization for Effective Membrane Distillation

Membrane technology has turned out to be a cornerstone in water treatment, providing advanced solutions that significantly enhance the efficiency of the purification process. The conventional reverse osmosis processes have shortcomings like large volume of rejects and fouling, which have been addressed largely using membrane distillation (MD). The ability of MD to treat a wide array of brines and hypersaline water sources, ranging from seawater to industrial wastewater, has made it a leading desalination technology. This review explores the role of silane chemistry in developing hydrophobic membranes, fundamental classification of silanes, grafting intricacies, critical pretreatment procedures, and techniques for silane functionalization. It further sheds light on the methods for evaluating hydrophobicity and performance metrics, highlighting the advantages of stable flux, enhanced solute rejection, and resistance to fouling. The paper particularly highlights the emergence of silanes as the preferred agents for enhancing membrane hydrophobicity that exhibit anti-wetting properties, concluding with a call for further research aimed at large-scale production of these membranes for global water treatment.