Pervaporation membrane materials: Recent trends and perspectives

Pervaporation is a molecular separation membrane technology for selective permeation of water or organic compounds from organic-water mixtures or organic-organic mixtures. The pervaporation process is controlled by thermodynamic partitioning and kinetic mobility of molecules in the membrane. The chemical property and morphology of membrane materials can be engineered to tailor the complementary sorption and diffusion coefficient and selectivity, and thus the permeability (or flux) and selectivity (or separation factor). In this review, we highlight the latest progresses of pervaporation membrane materials, including pure polymeric membranes and inorganic membranes, as well as mixed-matrix membranes and emerging two-dimensional-material membranes. Challenges and future opportunities in materials design, fabrication and structure-performance relationship are identified to develop next-generation pervaporation membranes with enhanced separation efficiency.