Prospects of 2D Materials-based Membranes in Water Desalination

Abstract

This study discloses the role of graphene and bismuth chalcogenides in membranes designed to water desalination. Nanocomposite membranes were tailored and characterized from morphological and physicochemical point of views. Membrane distillation (MD) and membrane crystallization (MCr) experiments were implemented in order to evaluate how confined fillers can affect the final performance of membrane process in terms of flux, rejection, nucleation and growth rate of salts crystals. Chemisorption was envisaged as a crucial mechanism in assisting water diffusion and ion aggregation. This study provides new insightful indication about the powerful function of graphene and materials beyond graphene in membranes designed for scalable MD and MCr. Higher performances could make these membrane operations extremely challenging for future competitive water desalination processes.