Graphene-based membranes: status and prospects

Recently, graphene-based membranes have been extensively studied, represented by two distinct research directions: (i) creating pores in graphene basal plane and (ii) engineering nanochannels in graphene layers. Most simulation results predict that porous graphene membranes can be much more selective and permeable than current existing membranes, also evidenced by some experimental results for gas separation and desalination. In addition, graphene oxide has been widely investigated in layered membranes with two-dimensional nanochannels, showing very intriguing separation properties. This review will cover state-of-the-art of graphene-based membranes, and also provide a material guideline on future research directions suitable for practical membrane applications.