Desalination 478 (2020) 114178

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Desalination
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/desal

Engineering advance

Recent advances in nanofibrous membranes: Production and applications in T

water treatment and desalination
Haleema Saleema, Levent Trabzonb, Ali Kilicc,d, Syed Javaid Zaidia,
⁎

a
Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
b
Mechanical Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
c
Textile Engineering Department, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
d
Areka LLC, Istanbul, Turkey

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Desalination of seawater is a promising technique that contributes a reliable and abundant source of clean
Nanofibers potable water. This review investigates the current status and forthcoming advancement in nanofiber tech-
Desalination nology, with a special attention on its production along with its application in seawater desalination and water
Water treatment treatment. Nanofibers are the latest generation of nonwoven filter media, that contribute extraordinary features.
Electrospinning
In this paper, we discuss about the conventional techniques in the nanofiber production, like electrospinning
Membranes
(ES), melt blowing (MB), fibrillated bicomponent fiber extrusion, phase separation, drawing, self-assembly, and
template synthesis, along with its benefits and limitations. We then present the developing nanofiber production
techniques, like centrifugal spinning, plasma-induced synthesis, and solution blow spinning. Here, we also in-
vestigate the developing applications of nanofiber membranes (NFMs) in separation processes like forward os-
mosis (FO), membrane distillation, ultrafiltration (UF), microfiltration (MF), and nanofiltration (NF). This work
also highlights the surface modifications performed in the NFMs for enhancing its efficiency. However, still there
are difficulties to be considered and overpowered for NFM technology to approach further development. We

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: szaidi@qu.edu.qa (S.J. Zaidi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2019.114178
Received 4 August 2019; Received in revised form 8 October 2019; Accepted 9 October 2019
0011-9164/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
H. Saleem, et al.
believe that with additional advancement in the nanofiber manufacturing procedures and recognition of new
utilization of NFMs, the nanofiber field of technology will develop and cross its present state towards com-
mercialization and utilization.
1. Introduction
There is a huge requirement for efficient water filtration technolo-
gies, because of population growth, global warming and contamination
of freshwater, and this has prompted increased attention to the devel-
opment of advanced nanomaterials which can help in the seawater
desalination as well as water treatment. The size-dependent filtration is
conceivable by means of nanofiber membranes as they have superior
porosity and this pore size is adjustable through the manufacturing
procedure. Consequently, it is timely to thoroughly review the different
nanofiber production techniques along with its benefits and drawbacks,
and use of nanofiber membranes in desalination and water treatment;
which will format future trends in the research of nanofiber mem-
branes.
1.1. Requirement of clean water
Clean water is considered to be the most fundamental resource for
human utilization, and at present, almost 11% of the world's total po-
pulation have no access to pure potable water. In spite of the fact that
water comprises over 70% of the surface of the earth, 97% of this is
unreasonably salty for human consumption. In addition, majority of the
rest of the 3% is caught in ice caps and glaciers or underground, leaving
lesser than 1% of the world's total supply of water accessible to human
use [1]. Due to the developing worldwide population and constant
economic growth, we have approached a potentially critical situation in
adjusting the supply and accessibility of freshwater assets [2]. Because
of several factors, such as industrialization, global warming (since en-
vironmental variation influences the hydrologic cycle), and freshwater
contamination, the current sources of water, for example, recycled
wastewater, surface water (dams and rivers), and certain underground
sources, are getting to be exhausted due to increasing demand as well as
diminishing rainfall for pure water supply. Recycling of wastewater is
further not able to satisfy the need, contingent upon the degree or se-
verity of contamination. The urban populace is anticipated to develop
from around 2.5 billion in 1950 to 9.8 billion in 2050 [3]. Predictions
up to 2030 demonstrate an enhancement in worldwide water uptake of
almost 40% of the present available and dependable supply sources,
which means a heightening of water demand [4]. With pure water as-
sets rapidly running out, the requirement for additional effective as well
as cheap water treatment strategies is very important to help meet our
constantly developing water needs. Subsequently, the requirement for
technological advancement to empower innovative desalination and
wastewater/water treatment technologies cannot be exaggerated [5,6].
The conversion of seawater, brackish water, and wastewater into po-
table water needs superior water treatment.
Desalination can be carried out on seawater or inland underground
brackish water, of which seawater treatment is more achievable relative
to brackish-water treatment. Desalination of seawater offers a con-
sistent and abundant supply of water with good quality. The seawater
desalination is regularly utilized in deserts as well as in arid regions,
however, because of global water stresses the desalination has turned
out to be increasingly prevalent in developing nations over the years.
Desalination includes the seawater evaporation, by that separating the
salts, minerals, as well as different impurities, to produce pure water for
household in addition to industrial utilization. The greater salt con-
centration of seawater makes it an expensive operation. The salt con-
tent or salinity of seawater is because of the existence of almost 3.5%
sodium chloride (NaCl). Potable water ought to have a salt concentra-
tion below 280 ppm [7,8]. The methods for seawater desalination are
2
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
categorized as electrical, chemical, mechanical, and thermal energy
processes. The desalination innovations are either pressure or thermally
driven, and consists of different types of technologies, for example,
multistage flash (MSF) distillation, membrane distillation, mechanical
vapor compression distillation, multiple-effect distillation, electro-
dialysis, reverse osmosis, and nanofiltration processes. Thermally-based
processes are considered to be first-generation technologies, whereas
membrane-based techniques are the second generation. A membrane is
considered to be a semipermeable medium which just permits specific
molecules and compounds to go through and restricts the flow of
others. The membrane-based techniques include membrane distillation
(MD), forward osmosis (FO), reverse osmosis (RO), microfiltration
(MF), nano-filtration (NF), and ultrafiltration (UF).
MD is the most preferable thermally-driven procedure, whereas RO
is noted to be the most favored pressure-driven operation. In this
manner, both MD and RO strategies have been actively explored be-
cause of their great salt-removal performance (especially, > 98% re-
moval of NaCl) and, as a result, are the most utilized seawater desali-
nation methods for generating potable water. Other techniques, for
example, NF, are mostly utilized for removal of lesser NaCl content
(about 20 to 80% removal of NaCl) and primarily employed for
brackish water treatment [9,10,11]. Desalination has turned out to be
most convenient and efficient, and studies into membrane-based desa-
lination strategies have progressively increased over the last decade. RO
and NF membranes are extensively utilized in desalination applications.
The operation efficiency of membrane-based desalination strategies,
with respect to separation (rejection of salt) and permeability (water
flux), relies considerably on the membrane characteristics. With con-
stant advancements accomplished through the membrane character-
istics optimization, the membrane procedures have become more effi-
cient (for example, enhanced permeability) and, as a result, utilize
lesser energy relative to the thermally-driven operations.
1.2. Introduction to nanofibers
Developments in nanotechnology could extraordinarily assist in
overcoming the present problems of satisfying the demand for drinking
water supplies utilizing unique, nanoengineered/nanostructured ma-
terials. Nanotechnology, with respect to nanoparticles or nanofiber
membranes (NFMs), for desalination or water treatment applications, is
a relatively latest approach that has developed swiftly in interest as a
strategy to enhance efficiency by upgrading the membrane surface
properties. The field of nanomaterials includes a wide scope of inter-
esting materials with extraordinary physical as well as chemical prop-
erties. The nanomaterials include zero-dimensional (0-D) nanoparticles
(all 3 dimensions are in the range of 1 nm–100 nm, for example,
quantum dots), one-dimensional (1-D) (here, one of the dimensions is in
nanometer scale, examples include nanofibers, nanorods, nanotubes,
nanowires), and two-dimensional (2-D) nanosheets (here dimensions
are > 100 nm [12,13,14]. Extensively presented as nanomaterials with
incredible application possibilities, the nanofibers distinguish itself
among the remaining nanomaterials. A standout among the most re-
markable characteristics of nanofibers is their significantly higher sur-
face-area-to-volume ratio along with greater porosity [15]. The afore-
stated features turn these fibers a strong and excellent candidate for
several progressive utilizations in areas like superior performance fil-
tration, composite materials, battery separators, tissue engineering,
wound dressing, electrochemical sensing, blood vessel engineering,
vascular grafts and reinforcements [16,17,18]. As a matter of fact, the
significance of nanofibers can be seen from the numerous constituent
 H. Saleem, et al.

Table 1
Comparison of different conventional nanofiber production techniques.
Nanofiber production Types of material Range of fiber Benefits Drawbacks Ref.
techniques dimension

Electrospinning PA, PU, PEO, PVP, PLA, PP, PCL, Few nanometer to Highly porous, long, continuous, interconnected, 3-D fibrous system, Toxic solvents, Instability of jet [27], [77]
polylactide, PVA, PES, PAN, PVDF, PSf, several microns that contributes an elevated internal surface area and consequently
PANi, PET, Kevlar, PI, PS immense separation ability. Simple instrument, continuous process,
Cost effective.
Melt blowing Polyesters, PE, PP, PA, PU, PVC, PVA, PAN, 250 nm to several High productivity, Continuous and long fibers, No issues of solvent Polymer thermal degradation, Incapability to [77],
PBT, PS microns recovery design adequately smaller orifice in the die
Drawing PMMA, PVB, PEO, PVA, PCL, blend of 2 to 100 nm Process simplicity, accessibility, can be effectively modified, no Process is time-consuming, not suitable for entire [58], [77],
hyaluronic acid (HA), Fish gelatin (FG) requirement for an expert person for handling the system polymers. Gets exceptionally long single fiber [73]
having poor shape.

3
Phase separation PLLA, PLGA, PDLLA, chitosan 50–500 nm Inexpensive, Simple equipment requirement, Generates one by one Hard to retain porosity, time-consuming [61], [77]
continuous nanofiber and large scale manufacturing is likewise procedure, absence of structural stability, and
conceivable not appropriate for all polymers
Template synthesis PCL, PANi 25–400 nm Capability to manufacture nanofibers with various diameter Complicated process. Cannot generate nanofibers [57], [77]
with extended fiber length
Fibrillated bicomponent fiber Polyester, polystyrene, co-polyesters 100–800 nm Long as well as continuous fibers, relative uniformity Solvent recovery along with additional [77]
extrusion (COPET), PVA, thermoplastic starches processing
Self-assembly PA, PVA, PEI Diameter 5–25 nm Considerably lesser diameter of nanofibers in the range of a few No control on fiber dimensions. Complicated and [78], [77]
nanometers low productivity technique.
Not scalable.

Polyamide - PA, Polyurethane - PU, Polyethylene oxide - PEO, Polyvinylpyrrolidone - PVP, Polylactic acid - PLA, Polypropylene - PP, Polycaprolactone - PCL, Polyvinylalcohol - PVA, Polyether sulfone - PES,
Polyacrylonitrile - PAN, Polyvinylidene fluoride - PVDF, Polysulfone - PSf, Polyaniline - PANi, Polyethylene terephthalate - PET, Polyimide - PI, Polystyrene - PS, Polyethylene - PE, Polyvinyl chloride - PVC, Polybutylene
terephthalate - PBT, Polystyrene - PS, Fish gelatin (FG), polymethylmethacrylate – PMMA, polyvinyl butyral –PVB, poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid- PLGA, poly-DL-lactic acid – PDLLA, Poly-L-lactide acid – PLLA.
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
H. Saleem, et al. Desalination 478 (2020) 114178

elements from which they are synthesized to the scope of utilization in
which they have been exhibited to have a critical effect. Nanofibers are
usually produced from a combination of materials, for example, syn-
thetic polymers [19,20], natural polymers [21], composite nanoma-
terials [22,23], semiconducting nanomaterials [24,25] and carbon-
based nanomaterials [26]. Besides the quick advancement in the pre-
paration as well as characterization of nanofibers during recent years,
considerable efforts have been concentrated on investigating the po-
tential nanofiber utilization, inclusive of water treatment, environ-
mental treatment, biomedical engineering, healthcare, energy storage,
and generation.
It can be noted that nanofibers are attaining great recognition in
their utilization as membranes essentially because of the remarkable
properties of these materials. Membrane filtration system is improved
further by integrating the nanofibrous media. It is widely recognized
that a nanomaterial should have minimum one dimension of the order
of 100 nm or lesser [27]. On the other hand, many researchers count
fibers having a diameter up to 1000 nm as nanofibers [28,29]. Nano-
fibers can be prepared utilizing various techniques, for example, bi-
component extrusion, electrospinning (ES) [30], melt blowing (MB)
[31], phase separation [32], centrifugal spinning (CS), drawing [33],
self-assembly and template synthesis [34]. Out of them, ES is a direct,
economical, and flexible strategy that basically utilizes a cost-effective
and simple setup to manufacture nanofibers in different sizes and
shapes. In the majority of the aforestated operations, the fibers are
assembled as non-woven random fiber mats.
Nanofiber membranes manufactured by ES technique form part of
the nanotechnology-based strategies employed to manufacture unique
separation membranes. The electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENFMs)
have remarkable properties, and hence these type of membranes can be
utilized to prepare multi-functional water purification materials.
Despite that, for desalination utilization, their extremely porous
frameworks with extensive pore size distributions (pore size in micron
range) restrict their capability to separate dissolved salts, like NaCl,
from water. In this manner, they are restricted to MF-separation utili-
zation involving microsized particles, or as pre-filters before sensitive
RO procedures. With proper modification, the water treatment utili-
zation of these membranes could be additionally extended to the se-
paration of extra complex colloidal solutions, like oil/water suspen-
sions, that involves the organic solute separation. Modification of an
electrospun nanofiber membrane surface with a thin selective coating
layer by crosslinking leads to the development of a composite mem-
brane having small pores which could be utilized for ultrafiltration
separation applications. Additional modification using interfacial
polymerization (IP) coating results in nonporous composite membranes
which could be employed in RO and NF utilization. IP develops a
coating of polyamide (PA) as a super-thin top selective layer on the
ENFM surface, leading to a thin-film nanofiber composite membrane;
and this type of membrane could be utilized in MD as well as RO se-
parations. The coated layer of a thin-film nanofiber composite mem-
brane could be furthermore modified to enhance salt rejection and
permeability through the incorporation of nanoparticles. The inclusion
of nanoparticles into electrospun nanofiber membranes assist to im-
prove performance (both salt rejection and flux); and hence, the ap-
plication of nanotechnology in current desalination technologies can
lead to superior membrane efficiency.
Despite the fact that a few research works have been published on
nanofiber preparation, it has been acknowledged that a thorough and
efficient review covering all the traditional and emerging strategies for
nanofiber manufacturing must be carried out which is necessary for
future improvements in the field. Hence, we will discuss in this article
all the important conventional and emerging techniques for the nano-
fiber preparation, along with its benefits and drawbacks. Besides, we
will briefly examine the membrane manufacturing using the ES

Fig. 1. a: Diagrammatic representation of the nanofiber production process by ES technique. Adapted from reference [72]; b: Schematic portrayal of the MB system.
Adapted from reference [48]; c: Portrayal of bicomponent spunbonding process. Adapted from reference [51]; d: Schematic representation of the nanofiber man-
ufacturing process by template synthesis method. Adapted from reference [73]; e: Schematic depiction of the nanofiber fabrication process by phase separation
technique [58] f: Schematic representation of the nanofiber production process by drawing technique. Reference [58]; g: Demonstration of the apparatus utilized for
CLSD. Adapted from reference [70]; h: Schematic representation of the nanofiber fabrication process by self-assembly technique. Adapted from reference [58].

4
H. Saleem, et al.
technique, with a specific focus on the various ES strategies, factors
affecting the ES process and modifications of electrospun membranes.
This review paper will also inspect the advancement of electrospun
nanofiber membrane for seawater desalination and water treatment
processes.
Considering the latest updates in desalination and water treatment
field, we believe that it is important to summarize the latest findings in
this review paper with the cutting-edge research advancements.
Numerous developments are promptly being made in the manu-
facturing as well as modification of nanofiber membranes for desali-
nation as well as water/wastewater treatment, particularly in the past
several years. Accordingly, in this review paper, we review the nano-
fiber applications in desalination and water treatment with special
emphasize on the research advancements in the last 5 years. We also
examine the emerging applications of nanofiber membranes in se-
paration processes like MD, FO, NF, UF, and MF. In combination with
the differing modifying techniques, we analyze the relation between the
structure of membrane and separation performance. Likewise, we will
present here the industrial scaling-up and future scope of nanofiber
membranes. We believe that this paper would contribute new insights
and knowledge for the scientific community in this field. This will also
contribute to the investigation of more advanced nanofiber membranes
for desalination and water treatment applications. To the best of our
knowledge, there are not many studies dealing with nanofiber mem-
brane preparation and application, and discusses about the conven-
tional and emerging nanofiber production techniques, different
Fig. 1. (continued)
5
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
strategies for nanofiber membrane production, and the recent advances
in the nanofiber membranes for microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nano-
filtration, membrane distillation and forward osmosis in desalination
and water treatment applications.
2. Conventional nanofiber fabrication methods
The various methods capable of manufacturing nanofibers are
electrospinning, melt blowing, fibrillated bicomponent fiber extrusion,
template synthesis, phase separation, drawing, and self-assembly. The
required alignment, the amount, the cost, and the fiber material re-
quired are the elements to be considered while selecting the appro-
priate among these techniques. Distinct nanofiber structures, for ex-
ample, porous, hollow, bicomponent, and core-shell structures, could
be manufactured by utilizing these methods. Table 1 is the comparison
of different conventional nanofiber production techniques including its
advantages, drawbacks, types of material, and range of fiber dimension.
In the subsequent section, we present a brief review on each of the
conventional nanofiber fabrication techniques.
2.1. Electrospinning
Electrospinning (ES) is a versatile method appropriate to various
inorganic as well as organic systems and this method has a wide scope
of utilization which can give rise to a firmly controlled nanomaterial
size distribution [9,35]. The resultant nano-framework can be
H. Saleem, et al.
portrayed as an exceedingly porous network framework, possessing an
enormous surface-area-to-volume ratio, whose dimensions could be
effectively adjusted as well as optimized at the time of manufacturing.
The ES technique permits for the increased volume production of na-
noscale, mesh-like, lightweight, extremely functional structures. The ES
technique involves the utilization of a superior voltage electric field on
a dope polymer solution (that is, a polymer-solvent system) to generate
a solution jet [36]. At the point when the jet is being extended and the
solvent is vaporized, specifically subsequent to the whipping procedure,
fibers in the range of several microns to nanometer scale can be at-
tained [37]. The fundamental ES system comprises of three major parts,
inclusive of a feeding area, a collector area, and a high voltage power
supply. The aforestated fundamental parts are presented in Fig. 1.a. The
feeding segment consists of feed storage (solution of polymer), a spin-
neret (specifically a thin metallic needle), along with an injection pump
for injecting the dope polymer solution at a consistent flow rate.
The fibers with various characteristics (for example, topography and
morphology) can be manufactured by changing the ES conditions [38].
For majority of the applications, uniform nanofibers are preferable
[39]. On the other hand, in the field of the superhydrophobic and hy-
drophobic materials, beaded fibers as well as particles are regularly
preferred [40]. In the ES technique, fiber morphology, orientation, and
surface topography are to a great extent determined by operating
conditions along with properties of solution [41]. The polymer solution
conductivity is additionally known to alter the properties of the re-
sulting fibers [42]. For enhancing the conductivity of dope solution, a
few researchers included various salts, where the results were noted to
Fig. 1. (continued)
6
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
be favorable [42]. The major benefits of electrospun nanofiber mem-
branes are the existence of the exceedingly porous, interconnected,
three-dimensional (3-D) fibrous system, that contributes an elevated
internal surface area and consequently immense separation ability,
relative to typical membranes with a two-dimensional (2-D) framework
[9].
Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) direct-writing is a prominent strategy
for the manufacturing of nanofiber because of its high productivity and
simplicity. EHD direct writing is a highly effective method for satisfying
the growing demands of huge-area nano/micro-manufacturing. It is
innovative to direct-write sub-100 nanometer fibers on a flexible/rigid
substrate utilizing organic materials. A kinetically regulated mechano-
electrospinning (MES) procedure for the programmable and continuous
direct writing of hierarchic nanofibers/microfibers in the superior re-
solution goals was illustrated by Huang e. al. [43]. Also, this technique
is characterized by its high resolution, noncontact, additive as well as
reproducible processing, as well as organic material compatibility. EHD
direct-writing technique has numerous benefits: additive process for
less-cost, noncontact designing with low imperfections, eco-friendly
manufacture, patternability on non-planar surfaces, digital procedure
for real-time modification, registration over enormous regions, and a
lower-temperature process which is compatible with room temperature.
Also, the EHD direct-writing might be integrated with different manu-
facturing methods to generate novel functional frameworks. For in-
stance, on the basis of consolidation of self-assembly and EHD jet
printing, 3-D block-copolymer films with various configurations might
be manufactured [44]. By means of the contribution of a greater
H. Saleem, et al.
engineering and scientific network, EHD direct-writing will most likely
turn out to be a regenerative nano-fabricating procedure for nanos-
tructures as well as devices, not only for nano-materials or nanofibers.
2.2. Melt blowing
Melt blowing (MB) is a standout among the most well-known pro-
cedures to prepare superfine fibers on the submicron or micron scale. In
this technique, a thermoplastic polymer is undergone extrusion using a
die, and attenuation is quickly carried out by the hot air stream to
prepare fine fibers [45]. Fig. 1.b presents a schematic representation of
the MB system where high-speed air jets impinge over the polymer as it
comes from the spinneret. The fibers, which are attenuated, are later
located on a collector screen to generate a self-bonded, fine-fibered
web. Consolidation of fiber-to-fiber bonding and fiber entanglement
gives proper cohesion of web, that the web could be utilized with no
additional bonding. The fibers, prepared from MB technology, have
diameters from 2 μm to 5 μm. Recently, the researches have focused on
achieving nano-sized fiber diameters under the process conditions of
the MB process [46]. Nanofibers could be manufactured by extra-
ordinary die designs having a smaller orifice, by decreasing the poly-
meric melt viscosity and by reasonable modification of the MB setup.
If the MB technique can be utilized to generate the nano-sized fibers,
then this will contribute a lot simpler, quicker, and less expensive
strategy to generate nanofibers, different from the ES procedure. The
MB procedure depends on Wente's unique research published in the
year 1956, where the nano-sized meltblown fibers with fiber diameters
as reduced size as 500 nm were reported [47]. In recent times, Khan
and his coworkers have analyzed the preparation of melt-blown non-
woven nanofiber along with their filtration features [48]. They stated
that when the size of fiber was decreased lesser than 1 μm, superior
filtration properties was accomplished at lesser weights compared to
those of typical melt-blown webs. The results indicated a substantial
guarantee to utilize melt-blown nanofibers in filtration.
2.3. Fibrillated bicomponent fibers extrusion
In this method, the nanofibers are prepared by pulling apart the
various components or separating one of the segments of bicomponent
fibers which have two immiscible polymers organized in the cross-
section [49,50]. For generating nanofibers, minimum one of the com-
ponents should have a nanosized cross-section. The most widely ob-
served cross-sectional shapes of fibrillated bicomponent fibers are
hollow segmented-pie, segmented-pie, and islands-in-the-sea. The
schematic representation of the fibrillated bicomponent fiber extrusion
process is presented in Fig. 1.c [51]. In general, when the islands-in-the-
sea fibers are seen in the cross-section, different individual fibrils (is-
lands) composed of single polymer constituent are in the middle of a
matrix (sea) composed of the second polymer constituent. Islands-in-
the-sea nanofibers might have a non-uniform or uniform diameter of
the island component. For segmented-pie fibers, two polymer con-
stituents are organized alternately along the fiber cross-section peri-
meter, whereas hollow segmented-pie fibers additionally have a hollow
framework together with the segmented-pie fiber features. Segmented-
pie framework forms nanofibers and microfibers (diameter from
500 nm–2 mm) having non-circular cross-section. The bicomponent fi-
bers are manufactured by co-extrusion of two polymers melts by means
of a spinneret with a required cross-sectional configuration [52]. Sub-
sequent to the production of bicomponent fibers, breaking up the
constituents or separating one constituent is pursued to prepare nano-
fibers. Nakata et al. [53] manufactured continuous polyethylene ter-
ephthalate (PET) nanofibers with a 39 nm diameter with additional
drawing and removal of the sea component. This island-in-the-sea
technique for the generation of nanofiber is however a strategy which
could be scaled towards industrial manufacturing.
7
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
2.4. Template synthesis
Template synthesis is another regularly utilized method mainly to
generate inorganic nanofibers, for example, carbon nanotubes, and
nanofibers [54], polypyrrole (PPy) [55] or conductive polyaniline
(PANI) [56], and so forth. In this technique, utilizing electrochemical or
chemical oxidative polymerization, polymeric, ceramics, semi-
conductors, or metallic nanofibers can be produced employing a non-
porous membrane consisting of various cylindrical pores (thickness
from 5 mm to 50 mm). The technique involves the utilization of mold or
template to get the required structure or material and generate nano-
fibers. In this technique, the nanofibers are prepared by allowing to
pass solution of a polymer through the pores having a diameter in na-
noscale under the water pressure application on one side, that brought
about polymer extrusion and delivering fibers after interacting with
solidifying solution. Fig. 1.d is the diagrammatic representation of the
nanofiber manufacturing process by template synthesis method. This
strategy cannot manufacture nanofibers with extended fiber length,
only nanofibers with certain micrometers long can be prepared, and the
fiber diameter is based on the membrane pore size [57]. The capability
to manufacture nanofibers with various diameter, utilizing various
templates, is one of the benefits of this technique. The system might be
further investigated to produce inorganic membranes for separation
application.
2.5. Phase separation
In the phase separation technique, phases will separate due to the
physical incompatibility. The solvent phase is separated from the so-
lution whereas the other phases persist. The concentration of polymer
influences the nanofiber properties. As the concentration of polymer is
elevated, the porosity of fiber is diminished, and the fiber mechanical
properties are enhanced [57]. In phase separation technique, the first
step is the preparation of a homogeneous solution by dissolution of
polymer at elevated/room temperature and after that getting the gel
from the solution by retaining the solution at the gelation temperature
where nanofibrous frameworks are developed because of phase se-
paration, succeeded by extraction of solvent and matrix drying which
prompts the generation of nanofibers. The schematic depiction of the
nanofiber fabrication process by phase separation technique is pre-
sented in Fig. 1.e [58]. The phase separation technique has a require-
ment of process minimum equipment. Also, this method can legiti-
mately manufacture a nanofiber matrix where the mechanical
characteristics of the matrix could be adjusted by changing the con-
centration of polymer [59]. Up till now, only certain polymers, for
example, polyglycolide and polylactide (PLA), have been manufactured
into nanofibers utilizing this strategy [60]. By utilizing this technique,
no long continuous fibers are prepared, and not all polymers are able to
experience phase separation and manufacture nanofibers as it needs
gelation ability that constrains the utilization of this technique. A
comprehensive strategy for poly(L-lactic) acid (PLLA) nanofiber man-
ufacturing has been stated by Ma et al. [32] in four major stages as
mentioned earlier. The nanofibers prepared utilizing this strategy have
a diameter of 50 nm to 500 nm, and has a porous framework with a
system of endless filaments. Polymer type, solvent type, gelation
duration, thermal treatment, and gelation temperature influence the
morphology of the nanofibers. The phase separation method is in-
expensive, simple, and commonly utilized for the manufacture of na-
nofibers. This technique prepares one by one continuous nanofiber and
large scale manufacturing is conceivable with the phase separation
method. On the other hand, it endures some significant drawbacks, for
example, it is time-consuming procedure, absence of structural stabi-
lity, not appropriate for all polymers, and hard to retain porosity [61].
H. Saleem, et al.
2.6. Drawing
Drawing method is same as the dry spinning method in fiber-
forming industry that has the ability to generate extended single na-
nofibers. The drawing process is represented as the dry spinning tech-
nique at a molecular level. The aforestated strategy could only be ap-
plied to viscoelastic materials which can undergo an enhanced degree
of deformations, however remaining adequately strong to hold up the
stress developed in the course of pulling. This innovation is schemati-
cally represented in Fig. 1.f. A conventional drawing system needs a
proper, such as silicon dioxide surface; a micropipette along with a
micromanipulator for producing nanofibers. Mostly three stages are
involved in this procedure, stage 1: application of a polymer solution
millimeter drop on the substrate material, stage 2: the micropipette
later descends against the drop edge, and stage 3: contact as well as by
back movement of micropipette, the fiber is ripped out of the droplet of
polymer at a specific rate and lastly, the liquid polymer is produced in
the nanofiber.
In the aforestated nanofiber production technology, speed-ex-
tracting fibers should be around 10−4 m/s. The diameter of fiber pre-
pared using drawing technique is from 2 nm to 100 nm up to a few
micrometers; length will be from 10 mm to a few centimeters from this
system. The nature of nanofiber is mostly contingent upon drawing
velocity, composition of material, and quick solvent evaporation.
Different polymers, for example, polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(vinyl
alcohol), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyvinyl butyral (PVB),
and polyethylene oxide (PEO) are effectively utilized for the manu-
facturing of nanofiber by this method. The drawing technique has
several benefits such as the process simplicity, accessibility, adjust-
ability, and no requirement for a proficient person to handle the system.
On the other hand, this technique has several drawbacks, for example,
the process is very slow, gets exceptionally long single fiber having poor
shape, and not suitable for entire polymers. Xing et al. [62] produced
elastic and flexible poly(trimethyleneterephthalate) nanofibers from
molten state by single step drawing procedure. The obtained results
recommended that the poly(trimethyleneterephthalate) nanophotonic
fibers are promising candidates for preparing ultra-compact photonic-
integrated circuits and miniaturized photonic devices [62].
CO2 laser supersonic drawing (CLSD) is a procedure to effortlessly
manufacture nanofibers. The CLSD technique utilizes just CO2 laser
irradiation and have no requirement of any extra procedures or sol-
vents. CLSD restricts the nanofiber scattering in the air due to the fact
that the process is carried out under vacuum. Also, this closed frame-
work strategy contributes better ecological safety, relative to MB and
ES, that is performed in open frameworks. The nanofibers prepared by
CLSD technique can be manufactured considerably long, since the fiber
is provided at a consistent speed and is continually irradiated using a
laser beam. Utilizing a CO2 laser, the original fibers having diameters
range 100 to 200 μm are undergone melting and afterward passed over
a supersonic airflow to accomplish the supersonic drawing of nanofi-
bers dependent on the air force. The CLSD technique has just been
employed for the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
[63], poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) [64], isotactic polypropylene (iPP)
[65], poly(ethylene-2, 6-naphthalate) [66], poly(tetrafluoroethylene-
co-perfluoropropyl vinyl ether) [67], poly(glycolic acid) [68], and
ethylene tetrafluoroethylene [69] nanofibers, and the aforestated na-
nofibers were prepared without separating the second component or
without utilizing any solvent. Also, this technique can improve the
thermal resistance of nanofibers by just physical treatment with no
modification of the molecular framework [70]. Also, a recent research
has newly illustrated the preparation of nylon-66 nanofibers having
superior melting point close to the equilibrium melting point utilizing
the technique CLSD [71]. Fig. 1.g demonstrates the apparatus utilized
for CLSD in the study performed by Suzuki et al. [70]. It comprises of a
spool for supplying the fiber, a constant wave CO2 laser having about
10.6 lm output wavelength and a higher power of almost 40 W, a
8
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
movable platen, an acrylic vacuum compartment with SeeZn windows,
an orifice of 0.5 mm diameter for the fiber injection, a vacuum pump
and a high-speed camera with a long-range zoom lens. From this study,
it was noted that the diameter of fiber relied upon the drawing condi-
tions utilized, for example, chamber pressure, fiber supply speed, laser
power, and laser irradiation point. A nanofiber produced at a chamber
pressure of 20 kPa and a laser power of almost 20 W had a draw ratio of
291,664 and an average diameter of about 0.337 μm; and a drawing
speed in the CLSD technique was 486 m/s. This study demonstrated
that utilizing this basic strategy, i.e. CLSD, the generation of polymer
nanofibers with enhanced mechanical properties and prolonged chains
can be accomplished.
2.7. Self-assembly
At present, nanofibers can also be produced through self-assembly
in solution. This technique is schematically represented in Fig. 1.h.
Utilizing this technique, the manufacturing of synthetic or natural na-
nofibers might be accomplished by means of impulsive association of
individual macromolecules into stable and ordered nano-sized supra-
molecular patterns or structures. For instance, chitin nanofibers self-
assembled for generating networks on drying a chitin-squid pen solu-
tion in a chitin nanofiber ink [21]. Relative to the nanofibers prepared
using the ES technique, the nanofibers manufactured using self-as-
sembly method have considerably lesser diameter. On the other hand,
this method is complicated with low productivity which needs a so-
phisticated set-up.
Thus, in Section 2, different conventional nanofiber fabrication
techniques like electrospinning, melt blowing, fibrillated bicomponent
fiber extrusion, template synthesis, self-assembly, phase separation, and
drawing have been examined. Some of the fabrication methods like MB
and bicomponent spinning are limited to few polymers. Controlling the
fiber diameter is very difficult in methods like self-assembly, phase-
separation, and drawing. Regulating the physico-chemical properties of
nanofibers and ultimately scaling up to commercial fabrication is the
greatest challenges related to its manufacturing. Due to the fact that the
ES is still the most commonly employed technique for the nanofiber
fabrication, their parameters influencing the fiber properties is ex-
tensively reviewed in Section 4. An ideal range of entire parameters is
essential to develop the nanofibers with specified characteristics.
3. Emerging strategies for nanofiber fabrication
Despite the fact that majority of the nanofibers are prepared uti-
lizing the ES technique, this method has got a few disadvantages, for
example, dependency on electrical properties of polymer solutions,
electrical shock risks and low productivity per nozzle. The nanofiber
contribution in different fields will rely upon the advancement of new
and cheap innovations, only those which can satisfy the demand of
various sectors. Therefore, ongoing years have witnessed the enhancing
development of unique methods for preparing the nanofibers on a
larger scale and greater degree of efficiency, as outlined here. We dis-
cuss here some of the emerging strategies of nanofiber fabrications such
as centrifugal spinning (CS), plasma-induced synthesis, and solution
blow spinning (SBS) techniques. The aforestated next-generation na-
nofiber production techniques will be focused towards processing se-
curity and increased yields, as the market of nanofiber is expanding.
3.1. Centrifugal spinning
ES is certainly the most widely utilized method for the production of
nanofibers; however, it has a few disadvantages, for example, de-
pendency on electrical properties of solutions, high electric field re-
quirements, low production rate, and numerous other safety issues
[60,79]. Centrifugal spinning (CS) is a nanofiber preparation strategy
and it has received broad interest primarily because of its excellent rate
H. Saleem, et al.
of production, that is almost 50 times higher than conventional ES
technique [80]. Instead of utilizing the electrostatic power, the CS
process uses the centrifugal force to realize the excellent production
rate of nanofibers [81]. CS process can be utilized to manufacture na-
nofibers by employing polymer melts or polymer solutions, without the
dielectric constant limitations and the association of extreme voltage
electric field. In addition, metal, ceramic and carbon fibers can likewise
be manufactured by CS technique [82,83]. The schematic representa-
tion of the experimental set-up of centrifugal spinning method is shown
in Fig. 2.a [74]. It is important to note that the CS procedure was at first
developed by Hooper in the year 1924 to prepare artificial silk fiber
from viscose by the application of centrifugal forces to a viscous ma-
terial [84]. The CS process of nanofibers has attracted immense con-
sideration in academia in recent years. The fiber formation procedure in
CS process depends upon the competition between viscous forces and
surface tension of the polymer jet and applied centrifugal forces. During
the CS, the nanofiber manufacturing procedure can be classified into 3
different phases: Phase 1: jet-initiation for forcing the solution stream of
polymer via the orifice, Phase 2: jet-extension to improve surface area
of the forced stream of polymer, and Phase 3: evaporation of solvent to
solidify as well as shrink the polymer jet. So as to completely com-
prehend the nanofiber manufacturing process in CS, the researchers
have carried out simulation along with modeling work and delivered
significant knowledge. For instance, Mellado et al. [85] stated a scaling
structure supplemented by a semi-analytic as well as numerical tech-
nique for characterizing the regimes of nanofiber manufacturing and
suggested a hypothetical model for radius of fiber, based on process
parameters inclusive of angular speed, viscosity, orifice radius, and
distance to the collector, which is considered to be significant for reg-
ulating the morphological nature of nanofibers prepared by CS process.
Compared to the other traditional nanofiber production techniques,
the CS method has several significant benefits: the method has a simple
set up with low cost, it does not depend on higher electric fields, it has
great rate of production and it is able to work with viscous polymer
melts or concentrated solutions of polymer. Therefore, the CS technique
can be utilized to generate ceramic nanofibers, carbon nanofibers,
9
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
polymer nanofibers, and so forth. The previously mentioned benefits of
CS method make it a potential candidate for manufacturing nanofibers
in an inexpensive, commercial-scale model. In the case of large scale
manufacturing of nanofibers by CS technique, an enhancement in the
rate of production can be accomplished by just rising the number of
spinning heads along with the number of nozzles present on every
spinning head. The next point is that, relative to the ES strategy, the CS
technique generally utilizes polymer solutions with elevated con-
centrations, resulting in marginally thicker fibers. The aforestated could
be solved by utilizing motors having more advanced rotational speed.
The third point is that, the fiber mats assembled in a laboratory-scale CS
equipment are packed loosely, and relative to the densely packed fiber
mats manufactured by ES technique, the aforestated loosely-packed
fiber mats probably will not be advantageous in certain utilization. The
aforementioned problem could be solved by post-treatments, like hot
pressing as well as calendaring, subsequent to the collection of fiber.
The fourth point is that, the majority of the presently reported nano-
fibers by CS method depend on a simple strong structure. On the other
hand, it is conceivable to develop core-shell nanofibers by CS of two
solutions coaxially with a cautiously structured spinning head.
Because of its numerous benefits, it can be anticipated that nano-
fibers prepared from CS technique are good candidates for utilization in
different applications, such as filtration, aerospace, composites, energy
storage, and semiconductors. Also, it can be noted that most of the
current investigations on CS are concentrated on generating different
materials as well as their utilization; however, more thorough work, for
example, computational modeling on different forces associated with
the CS process and their effect on the fiber mechanical characteristics,
and researches on the impact of various temperatures on structure of
fiber should be possible to understand completely the procedure as well
as the structure-property-processing-performance relationships. In the
case that the set-up of device and collection issues could be addressed
and the procedure could be properly comprehended, CS technique will
become soon the best option for inexpensive, fast nanofiber manu-
facturing. The aforestated can initiate possibilities for the innovative
work in an industry in addition to academia.
Fig. 2. a): Diagrammatic representation of the experi-
mental setup of centrifugal spinning method. Adapted
from reference [74]; b): Diagrammatic portrayal of the
experimental setup of plasma-induced synthesis tech-
nique. Adapted from reference [75];] c) Schematic re-
presentation of an SBS device displaying concentric
nozzles. Adapted from reference [76].
H. Saleem, et al.
Centrifugal jet spinning (CJS) is a flexible technique and has been
developed for the generation of nanofibers or microfibers in an in-
expensive, very productive, and high-efficiency mode [80,86,87]. The
CJS technique has been demonstrated to be very effective on account of
its ability to certainly manufacture high amounts of nanofibers within a
shorter duration at less power consumption as well as reduced cost and
for its capability to be scaled-up for an increasing rate of production
[88,89]. CJS technique uses a great centrifugal force developed by a
rotating reservoir for extruding the nanofibers. Also, it can be noted
that only few researches exist which have examined the factors asso-
ciated with the CJS manufacturing process experimentally [86,88],
with certain studies concentrated on computational modeling [90,91].
In general, the attenuation of polymer jet into nanofibers employing
CJS technique is accomplished by means of the controlled handling of
viscoelasticity, centrifugal force, and mass transfer features of the
spinning solutions. Consequently, the evaporation rate as well as the
elasticity of solvent and spinning solution, respectively, will vigorously
impact the consequent diameter of the nanofiber prepared [86]. As a
matter of fact, various solvent-polymer mixes, for example, water-
polyvinylpyrrolidone, dichloromethane-polyvinylpyrrolidone, ethanol-
polyvinylpyrrolidone, and dichloromethane-poly(L-lactic acid), were
utilized as spinning solutions for the production of nanofibers using the
technique CJS [86]. Kilic et al. [92] produced silica nanofibers via
centrifugal spinning (C-spin) and followed by calcination. Nanofibrous
ceramic mats were investigated for their filtration performance. The
reduction in average nanofiber diameter was found to be advantageous
for particle capture performance of the mats.
One of the greatest difficulties in any nanofiber manufacturing
procedure is understanding the function of the different production
parameters which decide the overall chemical and physical properties
of the nanofibers prepared. The technique CJS needs a certain funda-
mental knowledge of fluid mechanics, processing, and polymer chem-
istry [85,93]. The most outstanding benefit of CJS method lies in its
remarkable productivity. In particular, its productivity is considered to
be around 500 times greater relative to traditional ES technique. This
was demonstrated in a recent report stating the utilization of CJS
technique for the fast generation of adaptable multilevel structured
silica nanofibers and microfibers, in accordance with the phase se-
paration effect of silica sol-gel prompted by non-solvent vaporization in
the spinning solution [80]. In the aforestated study [80], the CJS set-up
consisted of a hollow spinning chamber, a DC motor, and a few fiber-
collecting posts. Barium titanate nanofibers (approximately 50 nm)
were prepared by means of the CJS synthesis technique [94].
3.2. Plasma-induced synthesis
Utilizing a pulse direct current, plasma is commonly created from
the discharge between a couple of metal electrodes in solution. In this
plasma-induced method, nanofibers are produced with the assistance of
plasma generation between the electrodes. The development of plasma
takes place under water without employing any inert gas or any che-
micals. By using the plasma-induced preparation method, the manu-
facturing of nanofiber occurs by the quick bombardment of exceedingly
energetic radicals on the exterior of electrodes. With the aforestated
action, the vapor of atoms as well as the cloud of atoms is developed in
the plasma region. Subsequent to that, the produced cloud of atoms
condensed with the plasma expansion because of a significant shift in
temperature and pressure within the water. Lastly, metallic atoms un-
dergo reaction with oxygen (in-situ reaction) existing in water and
generation of nanofibers occurs. A diagrammatic portrayal of the ex-
perimental setup of a plasma-induced preparation method is presented
in Fig. 2.b. The plasma-induced synthesis technique can be performed
at atmospheric pressure in an open network and will have promising
utilization in the synthesis of nanomaterials. Recently, a study was
performed by Hu et al. [75], on the nanofiber preparation using the
plasma-induced synthesis technique. Here, the copper oxide nanofibers
10
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
with diameters from 15 to 25 nm have been prepared in water.
3.3. Solution blow spinning
Solution blow spinning (SBS) is another scalable strategy for the
fabrication of nanofibers where compressed air is utilized for the fiber
formation. SBS method has been developed for overcoming the dif-
ferent limits of traditional ES procedure, for example, the complication
in the in situ preparation of nanofibers and the necessities for high
electrical potential [20]. The SBS procedure is beneficial for preparing a
series of nanofibers and microfibers from polymer solutions. This
system was developed utilizing the components of both melt blowing
and electrospinning techniques, as an alternative technology for gen-
erating nonwoven webs of nanofibers and microfibers having diameters
practically identical with those produced by the ES procedure with the
benefit of possessing a rate of fiber production (estimated by the rate of
polymer injection) a few times greater. The diameters of fibers prepared
using SBS technique varied from 40 nm for poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to a
few micrometers for PMMA. The requirements for the SBS system in-
clude a concentrated solution of polymer, a coaxial nozzle, along with a
compressed gas source, and hence, the procedure might be possibly
used for in situ deposition of nanofiber mats as well as scaffolds for
appropriate coverage of targets that are non-conductive. The coaxial
nozzle is the critical element, through which the solution of polymer is
pumped via the inner nozzle whereas a steady, high-speed gas flow is
maintained via the outer nozzle. Fig. 2.c is the schematic representation
of an SBS device displaying concentric nozzles.
With respect to the electrospinning procedure, the SBS process can
be carried out at significantly greater injection rates. Besides, the SBS
procedure does not have the requirement of high voltage apparatus or
an electrically conductive collector, however, it could be utilized for
coating any sort of material having a more extensive array of solutions
of a polymer. Also, this technique is not restricted to electrical prop-
erties of solvents and polymers. The SBS technique utilizes processes
which are same as those utilized in industrial techniques for the pro-
duction of fiber, that empower its future appropriateness in a com-
mercial-scale generation. The unique features of SBS contribute a way
to investigate the application of nonwoven fiber materials in advanced
areas like filtration. The SBS procedure might be exceedingly instru-
mental in endeavors to additionally extend commercial manufacturing
of nonwoven polymer webs.
In the SBS procedure, the polymer solution concentration, the sol-
vent, and the polymer type utilized are determinants for attaining na-
nofibers and microfibers [95,78,96]. Dias et al. [97] prepared poly-
vinylidene fluoride nanofiber mats using the SBS method utilizing a
commercial airbrush as well as compressor set. Examination of the
specimen morphology demonstrated smooth nanofibers possessing al-
most 138.4 nm mean diameter. The preliminary test results confirmed
that there are no configurational or conformational variations in the
material. Hence, it can be confirmed that this advanced procedure is
promising for the generation fibers at the nanoscale and microscale.
Other significant points to feature are the affordability, high efficiency,
and simplicity of utilizing this method for the generation of film.
Thus, in Section 3, various emerging strategies for nanofiber fabri-
cation like centrifugal spinning, plasma-induced synthesis, and solution
blow spinning have been discussed. The contribution of nanofiber in
various fields will rely upon the development of new technologies, and
hence developments of several new methods for efficient nanofiber
preparation is seen in the recent years. The abovementioned recently
developed strategies like SBS for nanofiber fabrication might overcome
certain restrictions like the utilization of higher voltage, and solvent
recovery problems of the ES processes. Also, the CS technique offers
excellent rate of production, which is almost 50 times higher than
conventional ES technique The flexibility and simplicity of these tech-
niques make it practical methods for the fabrication of nanofiber per-
mitting the advancement of new classes of nanofibers which are not
 H. Saleem, et al.

Table 2
Summary of recently published papers on electrospun membranes for pressure-driven as well as osmotic membrane procedures for filtration applications.
Sl. No. Polymer system Electrospinning experimental set up Characterization Target separation Performance Ref.

1 Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
2 Polyurethane (PU)/
Polyethylene terephthalate
(PET)
3 Cellulose acetate (CA) and
Polysulfone (PSf)
4 Polyetherimide
5 Polysulfone/polyacrylonitrile
High voltage applied is 18 kV, Qd: 0.5 mL/h and needle ID: Scanning electron microscope Suspended particle The membrane removed entire 0.1 μm particles present in [130]
0.4 mm, membrane uniform thickness: ~60 μm (SEM), Porosity microfiltration (MF) water and no reduction in the permeate flux
Applied voltage - 120 kV, Relative humidity - 50%, Chamber SEM, Capillary flow porometry Stbl4 bacteria and Removal of Stbl4 bacteria (∼98–99%) and micro-particles [131]
temperature - 24 °C, Distance between the electrodes-20 cm microparticle - (∼96–99%). High permeation rate – 46,500 L/m2hbar
Microfiltration
Voltage applied is 17 and 25 kV, TCD of about 10 cm and SEM Ultrafiltration of PEG and 90% enhancement in fouling resistance relative to control [132]
needle: 18 and 22 gauges; Relative humidity: 55% and 23% BSA mixtures membranes
Voltage applied is 30 kV, Qd is 15 μL/min, Needle ID is Porosity, FESEM, atomic force Forward osmosis (FO) Superior water flux of 42 L/m2 h, which is 133% rise [133]
0.75 mm, TCD is 12 cm. Humidity of about 50% at microscopy (AFM) relative to control membrane.
23 ± 2 °C
Solvent - DMF/NMP, Drum rotating speed-150 rpm, SEM, Contact angle goniometer, Forward osmosis (FO) Salt rejection - 97.12 ± 0.92, Good permselectivity, Higher [134]
Working distance-16 cm, Applied voltage-20 kV, Flow rate- Gravimetric analysis water flux, Reduction in ICP

11
1 mL/h,
6 Polyethersulfone(PES) Qd of 0.1, 0.4, 0.7, 1.0 and 1.3 mL/h; rotational speed: Tensile test, contact angle Filtration of fungus and Vapor treated membrane prepared in feeding rate of 0.7 and [135]
300 rpm, spinning distance: 22 cm, applied voltage: 17 kV analysis, bubble point, SEM bacteria culture media collecting time of 100 min was suitable for isolation of
and temperature 28 ± 2 °C bacteria
7 CA Needle based ES technique. Turbidimeter analysis River water filtration Final turbidity of about 0.135 NTU for a filtered sample of [136]
Applied electrostatic field:92 kV/m, flow rate: 1.8 mL/h river water
8 Poly(m-phenylene Solution feed rate was about 10 μL/min; distance from the FESEM, capillary flow porometer Water filtration m-aramid nanofiber membranes exhibited increased [137]
isophthalamide substrate to the needle tip was 15 cm at voltages in the range rejection of particle and superior pure water flux
12 kV to 15 kV. 30-gauge needles (inner diameter -
0.159 mm) were employed. Relative humidity (RH)
analyzed at 25 ± 2% and the temperature was 23 ± 1 °C
at the time of ES process
9 PES and PSf High voltage field of about 27.5 kV, Temperature: 25 °C, ATR-FTIR FIB, Surface contact FO Osmotic water fluxed about 2–5 times greater than [138]
TCD: 16 cm, RH: 10% Injection flowrate about 0.6, 0.9 and angle, SEM commercial type
1.2 mL/h
10 PAN Voltage applied is 28.5 kV and flowrate of about 1.0 mL/h. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) RO, Pressure retarded Membranes exhibited a significant increase of 3.5-fold [139]
Here, the TCD is 16 cm, RH: 50% Ambient temperature FESEM, TEM, Energy-dispersive X- osmosis, FO (water/sodium chloride selectivity) and 7-fold (osmotic
ray (EDX) water permeability), relative to standard commercial FO
membranes
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
H. Saleem, et al.
feasible by ES process.
4. Membrane fabrication using nanofibers
Electrospun nanofiber membranes are innovative membrane tech-
nology which contributes significant flux and higher rejection rates can
be achievable relative to conventional membranes. Presently, nanofiber
membranes prepared using ES technique are an interesting and con-
ceivable solution in the filtration field of technology because of their
exceptional properties, inclusive of their superior porosity, high per-
meability, adjustable pore size distribution, and completely inter-
connected pore framework, as compared to the other conventional
membrane manufacturing techniques [79,98,99,100]. Thus, electro-
spun nanofibers and microfibers are broadly achieving consideration
for the utilization in separation processes where the aforestated prop-
erties are acceptable. As stated before, nanofiber membranes, manu-
factured using ES technique, have been utilized in numerous separa-
tion/purification purposes, inclusive of pressure-driven membranes,
pretreatment of feed before NF or RO processes and the MD process.
Currently, thin-film composite membranes (TFCMs) for RO and NF
desalination are additionally being manufactured using the ES tech-
nique.
For extra utilization of electrospun membranes, for example, direct
filtration media, the electrospun polymeric webs could be utilized as
the support layer for the state-of-the-art TFCMs [9]. The TFCMs, in-
clusive of FO, RO, NF and UF membranes, comprises of three major
layers, inclusive of the lower nonwoven fabric layer, central porous
support layer, and top ultrathin selective layer. The electrospun nano-
fiber membranes are appropriate for pressure-driven membrane pro-
cedures in which the permeated phase is the target item, for example,
most water treatments and wastewater treatments. Because of the 3-D
interconnected pore framework of electrospun nanofiber membranes
and their superior porosity relative to typical polymeric membranes
with the 2-D framework, the separation mechanism is triplicate. Such a
multi-target separation mechanism is beneficial when the objective is
the removal of impurity from the feed stream. The advanced electro-
spun nanofiber membranes have excellent porosity, over 80%, whereas
conventional membranes have a porosity of 5–35%.
4.1. Factors influencing the electrospinning process for the fabrication of
membrane
In spite of the modesty of the ES process set-up, the manufacturing
of fibers is complex due to the fact that we need to take into con-
sideration a few parameters in favor of enhancement. Nanofiber
membranes prepared using ES method can be designed in accordance
with the desired structure, morphology, and functionalities by con-
trolling a few operational, environmental, material, and post-handling
parameters.
Operational parameters such as solution or melt feed rate, set-up
configuration, applied voltage, collector design, spinneret or tip size as
well as design, TCD, and speed of drum type influence the ES process
for the membrane fabrication. The voltage applied in the course of ES
process is usually in the range of 5 kV to 40 kV. A minimal feed rate is
required for the steady jet generation and increasingly uniform fiber
diameters as well as morphology. The aforestated guarantees a fine
balance between the quantity of jet solution leaving with the one
substituting it [101]. The morphology, size as well as the structure of
the nanofibers which constitute the non-woven membrane are influ-
enced by the tip to collector distance (TCD). The TCD influences the
electric field strength in the framework, with short TCD creating an
elevated electric field. The shape and design of the collector can like-
wise influence the resultant NFMs.
Environmental parameters include the ambient surrounding condi-
tions, for example, chamber temperature and humidity. Surrounding
relative humidity in the course of ES process influences the structure as
12
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
well as morphology of the subsequent fiber. Besides the relative hu-
midity, the surrounding temperature additionally affects the solvent
evaporation rate along with the polymer solution viscosity. The post-
preparing methodologies inclusive of drying conditions, heat treatment
as well as hot pressing strategies also significantly influence the sub-
sequent nanofibers. Material parameters influencing the ES process are
polymer concentration, molecular weight, polymer type, surface ten-
sion, solution conductivity, solution viscosity, and effect of additives.
The polymer solution concentration is a significant factor affecting the
electrospinnability of the solution. In the case of solution blends, the
concentration shifts from a lower value of 1 wt% to a higher value of 40
to 50 wt% relying upon the type of polymer utilized. The polymer
molecular weight (MW), is a significant factor that influences the
electrical (dielectric properties, conductivity) and rheological (surface
tension, viscosity) properties of the solution. Also, viscosity is a critical
factor in the electrospinnability, resultant size as well as morphology of
the fibers. The surface tension of solution is normally a function of the
inclusion of surfactants into the solution or the solvents utilized. The
solution surface tension has to be diminished in the course of ES process
so as to accomplish a defect-free, smooth nanofiber. All the aforestated
parameters should be adequately considered so as to obtain the opti-
mized conditions for NFM synthesis.
4.2. Various criteria of ideal membranes for pressure-driven, osmotic-
driven, and thermal-driven processes
Table 2 is the summary of recently published papers on electrospun
membranes for pressure-driven as well as osmotic membrane proce-
dures for filtration applications.
4.2.1. Pressure driven membrane process
The major function of a filtration membrane is the separation of two
different phases, preferably regulating one phase by means of a mem-
brane and simultaneously functioning as a barrier to the second phase.
In pressure-driven membrane procedures inclusive of microfiltration,
ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, a pressure enforced
on the membrane feed side functions as a motivating force to separate
water into two streams: retentate and permeate [102]. Generally, the
retentate is a concentrated solution which needs to be disposed or un-
dergone treatment prior to discharge, and permeate is the purified
water. The specific permeability as well as the selectivity of membranes
control their roles in filtration procedures from microfiltration to re-
verse osmosis. Based on the type of technique used, the bacteria, oil
emulsions, suspended particles, viruses, colloidal haze, cells, proteins,
macromolecules, monovalent ions, divalent ions and sub-molecular
organic groups can be retained from the crude water.
Even though the present membrane technology is starting to meet
the aforestated requirements, less throughputs of these membrane
based separations have prompted the requirement for advanced mem-
brane solution, inclusive of nano-engineered membranes. The primary
benefits of ENFMs are the presence of the extremely porous, inter-
connected, three-dimensional fibrous system, that contributes a higher
internal surface area and henceforth high separation ability in com-
parison with standard membranes with a two-dimensional structure. It
can also be noted that the ENFMs are appropriate for the pressure-
driven membrane procedures where the target product is the permeate
phase, for example, water/wastewater treatments. The use of nanofiber
mats or webs in microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration is
discussed in detail in the Sections 5.1–5.3, respectively.
4.2.2. Osmotically driven membrane process
Osmotically driven membrane processes, (also termed as engineered
osmosis: EO) includes forward osmosis and pressure-retarded osmosis,
which takes advantage of the natural osmosis phenomenon as the major
driving force for the membrane based processes [103]. Generally, os-
mosis is the net water movement across a selectively permeable
H. Saleem, et al.
membrane, that permits the flow of water and deny the solute ions or
molecules, driven by a distinction in osmotic pressure across the
membrane. The aforementioned procedures can be utilized for extrac-
tion of water and recovery of water, and furthermore, empower the
harvesting of salinity gradients for the generation of electricity [104].
The forward osmosis process utilizes the osmotic pressure difference
(p) as the driving force for the water transport across the membrane. So
as to improve the performance of membrane in engineered osmosis
utilization, it is important to develop membranes with a specifically
designed support possessing low tortuosity and high porosity, which
has the capability of mitigating the serious internal concentration po-
larization (ICP) issue. In the recent past, nanofiber membranes layers
with increased porosity have gained considerable interest as a potential
scaffold-like porous support to manufacture engineered osmosis mem-
branes. The use of nanofiber membranes in forward osmosis is dis-
cussed in detail in the Section 5.4.
4.2.3. Thermal-driven membrane process
Thermally-driven membrane processes include the evaporative de-
salination strategies where energy is utilized to heat water, which later
evaporates and undergoes condensation to obtain clean and pure water.
Due to the fact that this is a pretty energy-consuming process, it is more
feasible in power plants or refineries where the waste heat is employed
as the source of heat. Membrane distillation is a thermally-driven se-
paration process where pure water is separated from a contaminated
water source like saline water (e.g. seawater, brackish water or was-
tewater sample consisting of non-volatile impurities) [105]. MD func-
tions at a lesser temperature relative to a conventional thermal desa-
lination process, and at a reduced hydrostatic pressure compared to RO.
MD is a non-isothermal thermally-driven procedure which utilizes a
hydrophobic microporous membrane as a barrier (for water as the li-
quid phase), and just permits the water-vapor phase to flow through.
While lesser surface roughness and increased hydrophilicity of
ENFMs are beneficial for the pressure-driven membrane processes;
contrarily, super-hydrophobicity, or hydrophobicity, is an important
feature when such membranes are utilized for the MD process. The
membrane distillation process has four main configurations; none-
theless, in recent times advanced configurations are presented and
which could all be effectively utilized for desalination as well as was-
tewater/water treatment purposes [106]. Taking into account the
worldwide scientific research and development endeavors in the
membrane distillation procedure, particularly for wastewater/water
treatment and desalination purposes [107], this technique has not yet
been scaled to commercial levels. One of the most important obstacles
for this is the absence of explicit and unique membranes for the
membrane distillation procedure. The practical membranes in the
membrane distillation procedure must confirm a few specifications
before these membranes could be utilized, for example increased me-
chanical/chemical/thermal stability, enhanced liquid entry pressure
(LEP), superior porosity, and must be hydrophobic [108]. Despite that,
the majority of the applied membranes for membrane distillation are
those industrially fabricated for microfiltration purposes and prepared
from hydrophobic polymers. In such manner, ENFMs have demon-
strated potential features to be utilized in the membrane distillation
procedure [109]. The utilization of ENFMs in membrane distillation
process is discussed in detail in the Section 5.5.
4.3. Set-up strategies for ES membrane fabrication
The different ES strategies for membrane fabrication include single-
spinneret ES, multi-spinneret ES, coaxial ES, melt ES, nanonets forma-
tion, three dimensional (3-D) nanofiber membranes, ceramic nanofiber
membranes and nanocomposite membranes.
4.3.1. Single-spinneret ES
This system is the most regularly utilized for the membrane
13
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
fabrication because of its simplicity. Here, only one nozzle/spinneret is
utilized, for that reason, in majority cases, just a single solution pushed
by one syringe pump is needed. The aforestated system is particularly
suitable for the lab-scale investigation due to the fact that the small to
sufficiently-sized nanofiber membrane specimens are simple to gen-
erate.
4.3.2. Multi-spinneret ES
The process is not only appropriate for single-spinneret structure
generating single or mixed constituents NFM, but also the generation of
hybrid NFM consisting of distinctive constituent polymers is con-
ceivable. This could be achieved utilizing a double or multi-spinneret
ES framework in which at least two solutions are electrospun at the
same time onto a sole collector surface [110]. Additionally, multi-jet ES
permits the quicker manufacture of huge-area nanofibers relative to just
single-jet ES.
4.3.3. Coaxial ES
This is a variation of single jet ES system in which instead of uti-
lizing one spinneret single-solution structure, a core-sheath or con-
centric tube spinneret is employed permitting the development of two
unique solutions being undergone ES process simultaneously [111].
Coaxial ES is a fine technique to utilize for those polymers which are
difficult to dissolve or solutions which are difficult to electrospin. Either
the sheath or core layer can perform as carrier for the aforestated
polymers. This type of ES is likewise employed to prepare hollow fiber
membranes.
4.3.4. Melt ES
Majority of the studies on ES process utilized solvent-based solu-
tions. However, it is difficult to manufacture membranes from those
difficult to dissolve, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) [112]. On the other side, some of the
solvents/chemicals employed may be harmful to both environment as
well as health, and will likewise leave a few residuals whenever applied
in industry. Thus, in quest for cleaner manufacturing, the melt ES
process has been taken into consideration. In melt ES process, molten
polymers are utilized and because of the greater viscosity, larger fibers
are generally prepared that make it not an interesting method as more
conventional spinning procedures are accessible for micron-sized fiber
manufacture [113]. The benefits of melt ES include the absence of the
utilization of solvent, thus no exhaust or ventilation is needed and no
issue on residual solvents, and progressively uniform fiber generation.
In any case, as the polymer should be melted, heat is generally needed
that increases the expense, and on the procedure, heat is additionally
produced that should be cooled.
4.3.5. Nanonets formation
In ES process, the material as well as process parameters can be
designed for enabling the generation of very finer fibers (under 100 nm
diameter) named as nanonets, that are generated commonly because of
the phase separation-induced disintegration in the course of ES process
of a small charged drop under elevated electric field [114]. The pre-
sence of nanonets gives increased porosity, diminished pore sizes, and
extra surface area for the NFMs. The nanonets are portrayed either as
soap bubble, fish netlike or spider weblike form having interlinked one
dimensional (1-D) nanofiber framework, in which the primary elec-
trospun nanofibers function as the support material.
4.3.6. Three dimensional (3-D) nanofiber membranes
The adaptability of ES process makes it possible to prepare 3-D fiber
nanostructures or microstructures by means of different ES techniques
[115]. One feasible technique for generating 3-D membrane is by
consecutive ES in which layers of fibers are framed over one another
consecutively, may they be similar kinds of polymers or diverse poly-
meric solutions relying upon the desirable framework.
H. Saleem, et al.
4.3.7. Ceramic nanofiber membranes
The ceramic nanofibers could be in the form of porous nanofibers,
side-by-side, hollow, segmented, and hierarchical structure simply like
those with polymer based nanofibers [116]. The manufacturing of these
nanofibers is more complex relative to the preparation of polymeric
nanofibers. Beyond hundred materials have been utilized to generate
ceramic nanofibers for several utilizations.
4.3.8. Nanocomposite membranes
A nanocomposite is considered as a multiphase strong material in
which one of the phases has minimum one dimension of under hundred
nanometers, or structures with nano-scale repeat intervals between the
various phases which make up the material. Nanostructure due to its
size effects and consequently exceptional chemical/physical properties
have been generally utilized in most of the industries. On the other
hand, barely can an individual constituent be multi-purpose; occa-
sionally specific properties might even be unwanted in explicit de-
mands. Therefore, the nanocomposite that can either consolidate/en-
hance the benefits of various nanomaterials or neutralize/control the
downsides of individual segments has turned into a tendency to the
utilization of nanostructured materials. Remarkable features of elec-
trospun nanofibers, inclusive of flexibility, porosity, excellent surface
area and adjustable surface properties, prepare them an advanced
procedure to manufacture nanocomposites [117]. By adding the na-
noparticles into the pristine polymer to manufacture nanocomposites,
the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties, morphology, struc-
ture as well as surface wettability of the membrane would all be in-
fluenced. The nanoparticles like graphene, nanocrystalline cellulose
(NCC), modified silica, clay, and carbon nanotube could enhance the
surface contact angle and increase the performance of membrane.
4.4. Modification of electrospun nanofibrous membranes
The electrospun membranes might be modified by various surface
treatment techniques and or by including chemical groups. In the fol-
lowing section, various types of modification methods will be discussed
which might help future research in desalination and water treatment
technologies.
4.4.1. Layer-by-layer (LbL) technique
The LbL procedure is based on the binding of positively and nega-
tively charged macromolecules on the desired material surface. The
benefit of this technique is that the functional groups of the layers can
be selected in such a way that either a solitary property can be up-
graded or several properties can be introduced. The higher surface area
of ENFMs has prompted the researchers to investigate the probability of
fabricating extremely effective membranes for desalination and water
treatment technologies. In spite of the fact that LbL coating is mostly
performed by the utilization of alternately charged organic molecules,
inorganic nanoparticles with positively charge may also be coated on
negatively charged organic molecules. Because of its negatively charged
surface, the cellulose acetate (CA) is considered to be one of the effi-
cient materials for the LbL strategy [118]. Despite that, in order to
begin the procedure, the material surface should be activated by che-
mical incorporation. Consequent introduction of alternately charged
molecules is utilized to form the layers.
4.4.2. Functionalization of electrospun membrane
Functionalization contributes extra characteristics to nanofiber from
a single material. A material possessing prevalent chemical stability or
mechanical strength might be consolidated with other advantageous
properties, for example, chemical sensing, biocompatibility, anti-
bacterial effects, and catalytic sensing. Providing extra functional
properties to the nanofiber upgrades its efficiency and adaptability
which could be tailored to explicit utilization. The different methods of
functionalization might be utilized together to develop multifunctional
14
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
nanofibers.
4.4.3. Solution blending approach
The solution blending approach is one of the most frequently uti-
lized techniques for contributing an alternate function or property to
the parent material. The aforestated strategy includes blending 2 parts
in a solution succeeded by the ES process. In numerous examinations,
the blending procedure is utilized where the desired material cannot
develop nanofibers and, consequently, an associate electrospinnable
polymer is employed. Primarily, colloids, where the non-soluble part,
for example, hydroxyapatite, silica particles, and carbon nanotubes, are
suspended in the solution and undergone electrospinning to develop the
nanofibers [119]. The other, more frequently included materials are
polymers as well as soluble inorganic salts. There are three blending
techniques commonly used: the first technique utilizes materials which
are dissolvable in a common solvent, the second technique employs
various solvents for the two materials, and the third technique utilizes
insoluble materials. Given the possibility of this solution blending
technique, consolidation of the three techniques could be utilized in
nanofiber ES process.
4.4.4. Wet chemical treatment
In this wet chemical treatment method, the moderately inert
polymer nanofiber is undergone treatment with a chemical so as to
provide reactive functional groups, for example, hydroxyl (-OH), amine
(-RNH2), or carboxylic (-OH) groups, contingent upon whether the sites
on the polymer molecule are susceptible to nucleophilic or electrophilic
attack. The nanofiber material is soaked in an alkaline medium to de-
velop a hydroxyl or carboxylic group on the surface of nanofiber.
4.4.5. Heat press/hot press treatment
This is a basic yet efficient strategy to upgrade the properties of the
membranes, prepared using ES technique, to diminish pore size and to
enhance the physical integrity of the electrospun nanofiber membrane
[120], thereby increasing its possibilities for the treatment of water by
MD, FO, NF, UF and MF [121,122]. In a research study by Yao et al.
[123], the group performed a thorough examination on the impacts of
pressure, temperature, and time span in heat press treatment process on
polyvinylidene fluoride membranes for membrane distillation utiliza-
tion. Improved Young's modulus and liquid entry pressure were ac-
complished with optimal heat press conditions whereas the porosity
and contact angle were diminished by 5.0% and 2.1%, respectively,
relative to the un-pressed condition.
4.4.6. Chemical depositions
Here the chemical reaction takes place on the exterior of an ap-
propriate substrate, and therefore the product self-assembles as well as
deposits, to form thin-film over the substrate. Generally, semi-crystal-
line polymers and crystalline inorganic materials (for example ZnS) are
used in the self-assembled film. In a study performed by Guo et al.
[124], a hydrophilic ENFM was contributed the hydrophobic nature by
employing the initiated chemical-vapor-deposition(CVD), and the li-
quid entry pressure (LEP) improved to 373 kPa from 15 kPa sig-
nificantly, prompting the improvement of MD efficiency.
4.4.7. Coating
By the immersion of the membranes into a coating solution, the
coating could be accomplished. Recently, dopamine is becoming well-
known as an interface because of its easiness as well as effectiveness for
adhesion [125]. Also, we noted that in the work by Liao et al. [126],
they enhanced the contact angle of the MD membranes to 158° from
138° by applying dopamine as an interface in the coating method.
H. Saleem, et al.
4.5. Difference in nanofiber membrane morphology/structure in various
technologies
The water permeability of nanofibrous membranes are of great
importance to reduce energy expenses and long-term stability of sys-
tems. Liao et al. [127] proposed modification of nanofibers surfaces
using silica nanoparticles. The resultant surface provided more effective
liquid areas for the evaporation of water and enhancement in the per-
meation. Another important advantage is the high vapor and air en-
trapment that reduces the effective thermal conductivity of the mem-
branes. That results in lower conductive heat losses and more force for
evaporative transfer. In theory, a perfect support layer for a forward
osmosis membrane must possess less tortuosity, be extremely porous,
and should have a very thin structure. On the other hand, in reality
present forward osmosis membranes prepared by phase inversion
technique have a tortuous sponge-like pore structure in the support
layers, which is the main obstacle to enhancing water flux. Nanofibrous
mats provide an excellent media for FO membranes since they have low
tortuosity, high porosity and availability to be produced in thin thick-
ness. Sponge like morphology of conventional inversion membranes
exhibits lower water flux, while nanofibrous mats provide excellent
supports. Using that strategy Song et al. [128] was able to increase
water permeability up to 300% because of the lower tortuosity. Because
of the high-pressure drop and feed velocity, the pore wetting is an
important issue in air gap membrane distillation and vacuum mem-
brane distillation. The high porosity and mostly hydrophobic surface of
nanofibrous mats present an important advantage to be used in MD
systems. However, the high liquid entry pressure of water reduces pore
wetting over time. For that reason, triple layer NF based membranes
were fabricated, which is composed of a hydrophobic NF, a wet casted
mid layer and a hydrophilic NF layer [129]. Highly hydrophilic bottom
layer will facilitate absorption of condensed water molecule from the
mid-layer and reduces the resistance to pore wetting. Fig. 3 presents the
differences in membrane morphology/structure where the nanofibers
are used for various technologies.
Consequently, in Section 4, various factors influencing the ES pro-
cess for membrane fabrication have been discussed. It was found that
the nanofiber membranes manufactured using ES method can be de-
signed in accordance with the desired structure, morphology, and
functionalities by controlling a few operational, material, environ-
mental and post-handling parameters. The various criteria of ideal
membranes for pressure-driven, osmotic-driven, and thermal-driven
processes have been analyzed and the ENFMs proved to be a suitable
candidate for the aforestated processes. Also, the different modification
Fig. 3. (a) As produced nanofibrous membranes (b) Hot pressed nanofiber membranes (c) Surface treatment on nanofibrous membranes (d) Nanofiber membranes
with modified surface for MD processes (e) Composite nanofiber membranes with thin PA layers - FO (f) Composite nanofiber membranes for MD applications.
15
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
processes like LbL technique, solution blending, heat-press treatment,
chemical depositions, and coating are considered to be beneficial for
upgrading the properties of ENFMs.
5. Application of nanofiber membranes in desalination and water
treatment
The exceedingly porous and long nanofibers function as a potential
candidate for various developing environmental utilization, specifically
in particulate separation and liquid filtration for environmental re-
mediation and treatment of water, respectively. Both pure and cata-
lysts- or adsorbents-functionalized nanofiber materials are effectively
developed for separating or removing contaminants and pollutants of
sub-micrometer size from gas as well as liquid environments, dependent
on different chemical and physical strategies, prominently ultrafiltra-
tion [22] and adsorption [140]. Usage of nanofiber frameworks as fil-
tration materials has remarkably improved the separation effectiveness.
The aforestated implies better separation flux and reduced operational
energy. Because of higher specific surface area, superior surface-to-
volume ratio, and persistent matrix structure comprising of minor pores
of nanofiber structures, these materials facilitate profoundly effective
separation process. Nanofiber membranes present an uprising in sea-
water desalination, water as well as wastewater purification by pro-
viding an economical, and energy-saving process as compared to con-
ventional membranes. In view of this, the nanofiber membranes are
developing as a flexible method with several potential features for the
treatment of water. The various membrane-based desalination and
water purification procedures, for example, RO, MF, NF and UF and in
recent times, developing technologies, for example, FO, MD, capacitive
deionization (CDI) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) have attained
exponential interest. The membranes utilized in the aforestated proce-
dures vary predominantly on their material properties and pore sizes.
Henceforth, a few investigations have been done for the utilization of
nanofibers as support layers and pre-filter for desalination and various
water treatment processes.
The RO procedure needs superior quality feed water for efficient
separation, and henceforth feed water pretreatment procedure is ne-
cessary for improving the water quality to the level that would result in
the stable activity of the RO membranes. UF and MF are hypothetically
the most excellent pre-treatment for RO, separating from the feed water
majority of the potential components responsible for membrane
fouling, for example, bacteria, turbidity, particles, and enormous mo-
lecular weight organic matters. The nanofiber membranes can be pro-
ductively used for the UF and MF processes. Through the appropriate
H. Saleem, et al.
modification of nanofiber membrane, the water-treatment utilization of
these membranes can be additionally extended to the separation of
increasingly complex colloidal solutions, for example, oil/water sus-
pensions, that involves the separation of an organic solute. Further, the
addition of nanoparticles into nanofiber membrane help to upgrade the
membrane efficiency (both salt rejection and flux); accordingly, the
utilization of nanotechnology in current desalination technologies can
result in the superior membrane performance. For all membrane pro-
cedures, selectivity and flux are the two most significant factors to be
considered in addition to the fouling issue. In the next sections, we
demonstrate the utilization of nanofiber membrane in microfiltration,
ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, forward osmosis, and membrane dis-
tillation. We can categorize them on the basis of different polymers and
nanoparticle used, and the various techniques utilized in each process.
5.1. Microfiltration
The standard pore sizes of non-woven NFM from several hundred
nanometers to a few microns range make it perfect for the utilization in
microfiltration (MF). Out of the various membrane separation pro-
cesses, MF (that is, removal/rejection of contaminants with particle
sizes 0.1–10 μm range) is a significant procedure which has been
broadly adopted in the purification of water (for example, cleaning of
the surface and groundwater). MF is a basic procedure to separate
undesirable contaminants or for separating components particularly as
a pre-filter, and separation of microorganisms, for example, bacteria
which have sizes > 0.3 μm [141]. Numerous commercially used mem-
branes are presently accessible with 0.2 μm nominal pore sizes for the
application as microfilters. The benefit of NFMs relative to commer-
cially used membranes includes its controllable size of the pore, high
porosity, and simplicity of manufacture. On the other hand, the nano-
fiber membrane has insufficient mechanical strength, and consequently
the majority of MF researches need typical support layer to provide
mechanical strength, however, some researches have notified in-
dependent nanofiber membranes with better performance. When a
membrane is prepared, two major factors determine its practicality: flux
as well as selectivity. The selectivity is regulated by the membrane
surface properties which distinguishes the class of species which can go
through while flux depicts the transportation rate of species through the
membrane. The aforestated two factors are influenced by the morpho-
logical as well as structural properties of the membrane, for example,
wettability, thickness, pore size and distribution, transmembrane
pressure and porosity. The data assembled on the flux and selectivity is
basic in deciding the use of the membrane in separation processes and
in particular its performance. The three sequential steps involved in the
current pre-treatment of water are coagulation, flocculation and ulti-
mately sedimentation. By the proper designing of the module, electro-
spun nanofiber membranes can be utilized instead of the aforestated
three-stage pretreatment process. There is an additional possibility of
applying these membranes as pre-filters preceding nanofiltration or
ultrafiltration to limit the chances of fouling as well as contamination
from microparticles or microorganisms and furthermore to isolate cells
[142]. Here, we can categorize on the basis of polymers and techniques
employed during the microfiltration. For the utilization in microfiltra-
tion application, the categorization can be done based on the basis of
the polymers, such as (1) polyvinyl alcohol (2) polyethersulfone (3)
polyacrylonitrile (4) polyvinylidene fluoride (5) polysulfone and (6)
polyurethane, for improving the membrane efficiency. Further, dif-
ferent treatments such as chemical treatment, hot-pressing method,
heat post-treatment etc. in the nanofiber membrane for upgrading the
membrane performance has been illustrated.
5.1.1. Polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers for MF membranes
Different polymer materials are utilized for the fabrication of the
ENFMs; and out of them, polyvinyl alcohol has been given increased
attention because to its unique properties like better tensile strength,
16
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
high impact strength, high thermal stability, better chemical stability,
and good hydrophilicity. It is important to take note of that ENFMs do
not possess straight-through pores, in the event that they are properly
manufactured. Rather, particles can pervade through the membrane by
means of convoluted pathways; subsequently, such membranes exhibit
apparent/equivalent pore sizes normally in the range 0.1–10 μm, that is
desirable for microfiltration. Also, the ENFMs comprise of randomly
overlaid nanofibers; relative to ordinary microfiltration media, and
these membranes regularly display remarkably superior flux values and
considerably reduced degrees of fouling with no reduction in the re-
jection fraction of particle [143,144]. Generally, the waterborne mi-
croorganisms are bigger than 0.2 μm [145]; subsequently, it is essen-
tial/significant for the filtration membrane to accomplish increased
rejection fractions of 0.2 μm particles in water. Furthermore, the ENFMs
are undergone modification by post spinning treatments to diminish the
apparent/equivalent pore sizes subsequently to acquire 0.2 μm particle
rejection fractions [144]; despite that, these treatments/modifications
would extensively enhance the expense of the resultant membranes. As
an illustration, poly(vinyl alcohol) based ENFMs with approximately
100 nm fiber diameters could remove/reject over 90% of 0.2 μm par-
ticles [144]; while the poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes should undergo
chemical stabilization for restricting the nanofibers from dissolving in
water, and the membranes must be substrate supported (for example,
PET) to obtain the mechanical properties required.
Vast majority of the materials being used in ES process are solution-
based polymers, for example, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyacrylonitrile
(PAN), and polyether sulfone (PES), however, one significant difficulty
in the manufacture of these polymers is that the organic solvents uti-
lized regularly need solvents recycled from the diluted air steam,
making this procedure expensive, or the solvent employed must be
burned off. Hence, water-soluble polymers turn into a progressively
acceptable candidate for the ES process so as to accomplish an eco-
friendlier and economical production process. In the research per-
formed by Liu et al. [146], ES process was utilized to manufacture
nanofiber membranes for MF utilization and the group had chosen
polyvinylalcohol as the ES material, which is moderately cheap, ther-
mally and chemically stable, and non-degradable under majority phy-
siological conditions [147]. Despite that, the poly(vinyl alcohol) na-
nofiber membranes, manufactured from ES process, must be treated
with cross-linking agents for preparing a 3-D waterproof system
[15,30], before being utilized as water filters. The impact of two pro-
cessing factors, inclusive of solution concentration and applied voltage,
were properly examined by the group. The test results confirmed that at
an elevated voltage of 32 kV, the poly(vinyl alcohol) solution con-
centration of 10 wt% and 10 cm spinneret-to-collector distance, the
development of uniform nanofibers without any beads could be ac-
complished. It has been demonstrated that the mean pore size dimin-
ished with the thickness of the membrane under 30 mm and could be
kept practically steady when the thickness achieved 40 mm and above.
Because of the superior porosity, the electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol)
nanofiber membranes, dependent on various thicknesses, indicated
three to seven times increased pure water flux, as compared to the
commercially used Millipore GSWP membrane with 0.22 mm nominal
pore size. Additionally, it was illustrated that with a 40 mm thickness or
greater thickness, the pure water flux of the electrospun poly(vinyl al-
cohol) nanofiber membrane continued approximately the same despite
the fact that the membrane has become thicker. From the rejection test,
it was found that the membranes with a thickness of 20 mm or greater
are able to remove over 98% of the polycarboxylate 0.2 mm micro-
sphere particles, that was greater than the rejection ratio of the com-
mercially used Millipore GSWP membrane with 0.22 mm nominal pore
size. In spite of the “cake layer” development at the time of the rejection
test, electrospun nanofiber membranes could be retained at 1.5 to 6
times increased permeate flux, as compared to the commercial Milli-
pore GSWP membrane. Taking into account the superior filtration rate
as well as rejection efficiency, the ENFM with a thickness of > 20 mm
H. Saleem, et al.
ought to be a decent candidate for the application in water purification.
The electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofiber membrane can con-
ceivably be an incredible candidate to efficiently separate micro-
organisms, bacteria or microparticles from wastewater at a moderately
lower expense.
ENFMs (with distinct fiber diameters as well as various membrane
thicknesses and porosities) have been investigated by Wang Z et al.
[130] as advanced microfiltration media for the very proficient and
economical separation of contaminations with particle sizes of 0.2 μm
from water. In this research study, the porosity of electrospun polyvinyl
alcohol nanofiber membrane has been reasonably controlled/adjusted
by a simple hot-pressing strategy; and the relationships between mi-
crofiltration performances and membrane properties were methodically
examined. Upon optimizations/variations of the diameter of fiber,
porosity, and thickness of the membrane, the ENFMs could be openly
used as superior microfiltration media to economically and effectively
expel 0.2 μm particles from water. Also, the aforestated research work
has confirmed that the thickness of the membrane does not influence
the apparent/equivalent pore size, excluding the situation where the
membrane is slender enough to possess defects/pinholes. Furthermore,
the simple hot-pressing strategy was demonstrated to be very efficient
to enhance the rejection fraction and diminish the porosity of poly
(vinyl alcohol) based ENFMs. Relative to typical spinning strategies
which can just manufacture fibers with diameters in the range from a
few to tens of microns, the ES system could manufacture fibers with
diameters in sub-microns and even in nanometers. The microfiltration
performances of the manufactured ENFMs have been tested in dead-end
filtration mode at 10 psi applied pressure. It is to be noted that an
elevated rejection fraction is constantly accompanied by a lesser
permeate flux for any kind of filtration media/membranes. The results
proved that porosity along with apparent/equivalent pore size are the
deciding factors for rejection fraction. Moreover, with lesser rejection
fractions, the increment in thickness of membrane did not extensively
enhance the rejection fractions, whereas the values of flux were no-
ticeably diminished. The aforestated results evidently demonstrated
that if particles have been caught on the exterior of the membrane,
enhancing the thickness might not be a proficient method to increase
the rejection fraction. Accordingly, the electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol)
nanofiber membranes had remarkably diminished apparent/equivalent
pore size, making these membranes promising candidate as advanced
microfiltration media with superior performance like excellent rejec-
tion fraction, high flux value, reduced degree of fouling, and lesser
operating pressure.
5.1.2. Polyethersulfone nanofibers for MF membranes
Polyethersulfone (PES) is a very common, economical as well as
Fig. 4. Diagrammatic portrayal of filter efficiency progress with a decrease in fiber diameter.
Adapted from reference [149].
17
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
biocompatible polymer utilized in commercial membrane manufacture,
and this polymer has superior thermal, mechanical and chemical re-
sistance. The aforestated features make this polymer a potential can-
didate in the separation industry [148]. In the investigation carried out
by Khezli et al. [149], PES nanofiber composite membranes were
manufactured by ES process and the impact of concentration of the
polymer, temperature and solvent type on PES ES procedure was ana-
lyzed. For obtaining bead free nanofibers, the ES process parameters
have been optimized. For manufacturing the PES nanofibrous compo-
site membranes with changing properties, five diverse flow rates of
polymer solutions (1.3, 1.0, 0.7, 0.4 and 0.1 mL/h) were employed.
Solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), temperature of 28 ± 2 °C and
concentration of 20% were chosen as the ideal conditions for the
manufacture of bead free PES electrospun nanofibers. Solvent vapor
treatment has been performed to enhance the mechanical character-
istics of the nanocomposite membranes by enhancing the adhesion of
fiber. The membrane morphology has been examined using SEM, and
mechanical characteristics were assessed by tensile test. Utilizing the
bubble point technique, the membrane pore size was evaluated. A re-
tention test was carried out employing nanoparticle suspensions con-
sisting of identically sized particles and the water flux was estimated by
way of dead-end filtration system. Results demonstrated that the
membrane thickness, fiber adhesion, and fiber diameter have a re-
markable influence on water flux, potential membrane retention, and
bacterial separation. The water flux in porous membranes is ex-
ceptionally dependent on permeability and porosity [150]. Thin fibers
contribute increased porosity and with the increment in the porosity,
the enhancement in water flux occurred, as represented in Fig. 4. Re-
lative to the treated PES membranes, the increased porosity of effec-
tively movable fibers in untreated membranes brought about elevated
pure water flux. Ultimately, the manufactured membranes have been
utilized for filtering out fungus as well as bacteria from culture media.
The bacterial separation test demonstrated that the vapor treated
membrane prepared in collecting time: 100 min (MT8) feeding rate: 0.7
has been an ideal membrane for the isolation of bacteria.
5.1.3. Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for MF membranes
Nanofibrous polyacrylonitrile-polyvinylaclohol composite mem-
branes were manufactured by Liu, X. et al. [151], using the two-nozzle
ES method, for removing the heavy metal ions with opposite charges:
Cd (II) as Cd2+ and Cr (VI) as CrO42− from polluted water, subsequent
to surface modifications. Both cadmium (II) and chromium (VI) ions
display carcinogenicity as well as higher toxicity, and might lead to
severe problem to the human health which should be addressed in top
priority [152]. From several previous studies, it was found that the
functional additives along with nanofibers, can contribute significantly
H. Saleem, et al.
increased adsorption of heavy metal ion to MF membranes
[153,154,155,156]. In the study by Liu X et al. [151], two diverse
modification procedures, hydrolysis and surface grafting, were per-
formed to issue functionality specifically to one of the nanofiber com-
ponents (polyacrylonitrile). These composite membranes with in-
tegrated nanofiber network frameworks showed magnificent
mechanical properties, confirmed by cross-sectional as well as surface
morphologies of the membranes. It could also be noted that the com-
posite membrane mechanical properties, subsequent to surface cross-
linking as well as grafting, were similar to that of certain polyethylene
terephthalate nonwoven mats. The utilization of the polyacrylonitrile
modified composite membranes in MF processes with both metal ion
adsorption ability and filtration ability was illustrated. Rejection ratios
of the composite membranes were noted to be > 99.3% against 0.5-
micrometer-particles and the better selectivity against 0.3-micrometer
and 0.5-micrometer microspheres was seen from hydrolyzed poly-
acrylonitrile-polyvinylaclohol membrane. Additionally, the adsorption
capability of amino-groups modified polyacrylonitrile-polyvinylaclohol
nanofiber composite membrane was 66.50 mg/(g membrane) against
the Cr (VI) ions, that was noted to be three times greater than that of
single polyacrylonitrile nanofiber membrane with a polyethylene ter-
ephthalate substrate. In addition, the negatively charged hydrolyzed
polyacrylonitrile-polyvinylaclohol membrane displayed the adsorption
capability of 33.60 mg/(g membrane) against the Cd (II) ions, that
additionally showed great adsorption proficiency. The modified poly-
acrylonitrile-polyvinylaclohol composite membranes can be recycled as
well as reused for several times, as confirmed by the regeneration
proficiency of over 90% subsequent to 3 recycle operations.
5.1.4. Polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers for MF membranes
ENFMs are a potential technology for addressing the essential bar-
riers related to membrane filtration: low flux and high capital cost.
Accordingly, electrospun MF membrane manufacture is a promising
field of research [157]. Despite that, irreversible and serious fouling, a
typical problem of numerous commercially used membranes, remains
the primary disadvantage of ENFMs. The ENFM manufactured with
piezoelectric polymer is an alternate method to deal with fouling con-
trol which might result in low energy utilization, increasingly sustain-
able operation, and remarkable cost savings. The piezo-electrically ac-
tivated membranes can regulate fouling in-situ, inhibiting first
deposition of foulants on the exterior of membrane by means of active
deformation of the surface of the membrane [158]. The polymers, for
example, polyvinylidene fluoride, a regularly utilized polymer in
commercially used membranes, could crystallize in a piezo-electric
phase if an electrical field is available in the course of crystallization.
Poly(vinylidene fluoride) has 3 principle crystalline phases, namely α,
β, as well as γ-phases, of which the γ and β-stages are regarded as piezo-
electrically dynamic. The polymer electrical charging, through either
ES or electrical poling, could be utilized to induce the crystallization of
poly(vinylidene fluoride) in its β-phase.
The piezo-electrically activated membranes [159], accomplished
stable flux with less trans-membrane pressure at the time of continued
filtration of a synthetic biofouling solution. ES process was illustrated as
an appealing manufacturing strategy for membranes with adjustable
parameters for optimizing the piezo-electric properties of fabricated
membranes. Dimethylformamide demonstrated to be the most ap-
pealing solvent for the fabrication of nanofiber membrane as well as
filtration performance. Despite that, the results recommended that ad-
ditional optimization of dimethyl sulfoxide ES (for example, by in-
crementing the acetone ratio) might upgrade performance, assuring
further examination given the lower contamination risk of dimethyl
sulfoxide compared to dimethylformamide and N-methylpyrrolidone.
Future research is additionally required to explain the mechanism of
fouling prevention of piezo-electric initiation to give in-depth knowl-
edge for enhanced fouling mitigation. The aforestated will need a de-
liberate examination of the dynamic deformation that justifies the
18
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
variations in properties of membrane, for example, the nanofiber dia-
meter, Young's modulus and morphology. The structural properties of
the membranes should also be additionally explored to guarantee long-
term integrity under the trans-membrane pressure with no utilization of
an extra non-woven substrate for structural assistance. Also, it is sig-
nificant to observe that the piezo-electric initiation needs an energy
input which has not yet been optimized. Application of lower voltages
and intermittent initiation are promising methods which can decrease
the consumption of energy at the time of fouling mitigation. Further, it
is critical that the piezo-electric initiation has just been shown at the
bench scale and effectiveness are probably going to be observed at the
full scale operation. In the event that piezo-electric nanofiber mem-
branes can lessen or delay the biofouling with less energy input, then
these advanced membranes can easily compete against the commer-
cially used membranes utilizing the standard fouling control techni-
ques.
5.1.5. Polysulfone nanofibers for MF membranes
There are numerous investigations utilizing nanofiber scaffolds or
electrospun nanofiber membranes as pre-filters for the removal of
particulate through MF application. The most referenced disadvantages
of ENFMs are their lower mechanical strength and the trouble in
handling them subsequent to ES process. A few techniques were pro-
posed to overcome these issues before their utilization in filtration
process: addition of nanoparticle, heat treatment, hot-pressing, solvent
induced inter-nanofiber bonding, polymer blending, plasticization, and
utilization of crosslinking agents [102]. One of the best methodologies
is to upgrade the bonding at junction points in the nanofiber mat by
welding the nanofibers each other, such as by the application of heat
post-treatment (HPT).
In the research work performed by Arribas, P et al. [160], the fil-
tration properties of polysulfone ENFMs were upgraded by the utiliza-
tion of HPT. The morphology and structure of self-sustained ENFMs are
the important determining factors of membrane performance for fil-
tration utilization. In the aforestated study [160], HPT strategy was
employed to adjust the morphological and structural properties of
polysulfone based ENFMs, to upgrade their filtration efficiency and to
develop membranes appropriate for the treatment of wastewater. MF
tests were carried out utilizing humic acid (HA) model solutions having
15 mg/L concentration at a pH value of 11. Enhancing the heat post-
treatment time or temperature, prompted an increment in the mean
nanofiber diameter and a lessening of the mean size of the inter-fiber
spacing, the void volume fraction, and the water contact angle of the
membranes.
The ENFMs treated with a longer time and greater heat post-treat-
ment temperature showed increased nanofibers inter-connectivity and a
compact framework with a small size of interfiber spacing. Under a
similar microfiltration operation conditions, a commercially used PES
based microfiltration membrane (HPWP, Millipore) exhibited low fil-
tration performance (for example, low performance index, PI value of
about 82.0 kg/m2 h) relative to the heat post-treated treated optimized
polysulfone. The test results obtained confirmed the better efficiency of
the fabricated polysulfone ENFMs for microfiltration utilization. The
remarkably higher pure water permeability of polysulfone ENFMs re-
lative to the commercially used flat sheet filtration membranes permits
the utilization of lesser pressures and in this way diminishes energy
utilization in the course of filtration. Along with their shorter fabrica-
tion time, this property makes polysulfone ENFMs manufactured with
the optimized heat post-treatment conditions very potential candidates
to lessen the overall expenses and energy utilization of microfiltration
utilization.
5.1.6. Polyurethane nanofibers for MF membranes
The polyurethane nanofiber has been receiving considerable atten-
tion in several research zones, because of its unique properties, for
example, excellent nanofiber morphology, and flexible mechanical
H. Saleem, et al.
properties for a wide range of utilization [161].
The needle ES arrangement suffers from a few disadvantages, for
example, needle clogging, industrial utilization restriction, low spin-
ning rate, and it is a non-continuous system. Hence, for overcoming the
aforementioned limitations, different needle-less ES techniques were
established. In the work by Moslehi M et al. [131], wiry needle-less ES
procedure was utilized to fabricate ENFMs with increased rate in a
continuous system. In the aforestated study [131], an advanced process
for the fabrication of MF membrane based on a two-layered poly-
urethane/poly(ethylene terephthalate) nanofiber mat modified by
multi-step IP process was presented. The impact of the process para-
meters like concentration of monomer, reaction time, and the number
of reaction cycles, on the amount of PA development (that is, yield),
were explored. The pore sizes of the modified polyurethane/poly-
ethylene terephthalate ENFMs, ranged in 0.25 μm and 0.46 μm, can be
regulated by the aforementioned reaction parameters. These type of
membranes have the ability to separate micro-particle as well as bac-
teria contamination at the same time. Specifically, the fabricated
membranes were able to totally separate micro particles (approximately
96–99%) and Stbl4 bacteria (approximately 98–99%) by means of size
expulsion and retaining a superior permeation rate (about 23,200 (L/
m2hbar) and almost 46,500 (L/m2hbar) for 0.25 μm and 0.46 μm, re-
spectively). Efficiency of these nanofiber membranes was compared to
the commercially used membranes. Test results demonstrated that the
modified ENFMs showed excellent filtration performance when com-
pared to the commercially used types of comparable mean pore size.
The concentration of bacteria suspension in permeate and feed solu-
tions was estimated by means of a photometer and the results demon-
strated that the two types of membranes exhibited superior perfor-
mance and subsequent to the filtration, no turbidity or contamination
was seen as presented in Fig. 5. The bacteria rejection of PU/PA
(0.46 μm) [PU/PA is the PU/PET nanofiber membrane modified with IP
process, PA], PU/PA (0.25 μm), commercial microfiltration membrane
(0.45 μm) and commercial microfiltration membrane (0.22 μm) MF
were almost 98.80%, almost 99.90%, almost 98.90%, and almost
99.90%, respectively. The results confirmed that controlled pore size
ENFMs showed superior efficiency in flux, when compared to Minisart®
Syringe Filter membranes of comparable mean flow pore size and re-
tained a higher rejection level in the micro-particle retention test and
Fig. 5. The bacteria removal of PU/PA [polyurethane/poly(ethylene terephthalate) nanofiber membranes modified with IP process, PA] and commercial MF
membranes.
Adapted from [131].
19
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
furthermore it can accomplish the ideal elimination of bacteria.
5.2. Ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration (UF) is a pressure driven procedure utilized in nu-
merous industrial processes in which immense separation performance
is needed, inclusive of purification of water and biological filtration.
Most preferably, the structure of a UF membrane ought to have a su-
perior porosity, a thin skin layer, and a limited pore distribution [162].
In addition to this, hydrophilicity contributes a UF membrane with
superior wettability, that enhances permeation of water and hinders the
fouling development. For improving the performance of the membrane,
several past researches have explored the feasibility of two significant
modification techniques. In particular, researchers have integrated
molecules into the membrane body or they have modified the mem-
brane surface. The effectiveness of UF process basically rely upon the
structure of the pore and pressure utilized in the course of separation
[163], which are controlled by operating parameters, for example, salt
concentration, pH, system hydrodynamics, and permeate flux. The en-
gineering plastics commonly utilized as UF membranes are poly
(ethersulfone) [164,165], polyacrylonitrile [166,167], polysulfone
[163], and poly(vinylidene fluoride) [168,169] because of their ex-
ceptional mechanical properties, and chemical stability. Despite that,
the hydrophobic nature of these materials regularly results in sig-
nificant membrane fouling in the process of separation because of
membrane–solute hydrophobic interactions. The hydrophilic mod-
ifications, for example, grafting, plasma treatment, and composite
synthesis have been endorsed to diminish the fouling as well as enhance
the flux. For ultrafiltration application, the classification can be done on
the basis of the polymer nanofibers employed, such as (1) cellulose (2)
polysulfone (3) polyacrylonitrile (4) polyaniline polyethersulfone and
(5) polyvinylalcohol, used individually or as blend, for improving the
membrane efficiency. Further, the application of multiwalled carbon
nanotubes (MWCNTs), single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), and
hydrous manganese dioxide (HMO) nanoparticles in the nanofiber
membrane for improving membrane performance has been illustrated.
5.2.1. Cellulose and polysulfone nanofibers for UF membranes
In the membrane industry, cellulose as well as polysulfone are
H. Saleem, et al.
considered to be two commonly utilized polymers. Polysulfone (PSf) is
a hydrophobic polymer possessing superior mechanical and chemical
robustness. Further, cellulose is considered to be the most plentiful
natural polymer; and this polymer is hydrophilic in nature and can
smoothly experience additional chemical modifications.
The membrane efficiency can be improved by the insertion of na-
nofibers into the bodies of membranes [132]. Dobosz et al. [132] en-
hanced the performance of UF membrane using electrospun nanofibers.
The nanofiber layer with immense porosity contributes an adjustable
platform which has no impact on the structure of base membrane. For
decoupling the effects that nanofiber morphology as well as chemistry
have on the performance of the membrane, two polymers regularly
utilized in the membrane industry, polysulfone (PSf) and cellulose,
have been electrospun into a layer which has 50 μm thickness and
comprised of arbitrarily accumulated fibers of 1 μm-diameter. By the
incorporation of either PSf or cellulose nanofibers to a UF membrane,
the selectivity continued as before; on the other hand, the compaction
time varied at low transmembrane pressures. The composite membrane
flux performance deviated with an increment in the applied pressure.
Also, it was noted that at less transmembrane pressure values, the flux
of the nanofiber enhanced membranes was equivalent to the control
membranes and are not dependent on nanofiber chemistry. At trans-
membrane pressure values > 3.5 bar, just the PSf NFM exhibited a
linear permeance relationship that might be credited to the distinct
elongation properties of PSf nanofibers, relative to cellulose nanofibers.
PSf NFM had an increase of 35% in pure water flux and 47% increment
in permeance, relative to control UF membranes, at 3.5 bar trans-
membrane pressure. Also, it was found that the PSf NFM and cellulose
nanofiber membrane showed a 90% increase in fouling resistance than
the control membrane, probably due to the fact that the existence of the
nanofibers diminished the contact time between the membranes and
protein by 50%. Dobosz et al. [132] demonstrated for the first time that
the addition of a nanofiber layer to a UF membrane contributes a right
method to functionalize a membrane without unfavorably affecting the
properties of the base membrane. We propose that such type of com-
posite membranes contribute an advanced model for further surface
modifications.
5.2.2. Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for UF membranes
Arsenic (As) is an exceptionally toxic element, and its drinking
water contamination is a worldwide issue, commonly reported in the
literature. For overcoming this issue of As drinking water contamina-
tion, different procedures have been reported so far. Among the re-
ported procedures, the membrane based separation process is con-
sidered to be an ecologically safe and cost effective method. Out of the
different membrane based processes, UF membranes have noted to have
numerous utilization in water as well as wastewater treatment.
Bahmani, P et al. [170] developed an advanced TFCM using a poly-
acrylonitrile coating layer, an electrospun nanofiber polyacrylonitrile
middle layer, and a nonwoven polyethyleneterephthalate substrate and
observed to be efficient in the removal of As.
A cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) surfactant was included in the
aforestated study as a pretreatment to develop the cationic surfactant
micelles, that bind with the As ions. The TFCM perfromance was as-
sessed utilizing 3 different parameters namely rejection efficiency of
cetylpyridinium chloride from aqueous solutions, rejection efficiency of
arsenate, and flux rate. The comparison of UF membrane and TFCM
demonstrated the predominance of TFCM with a noteworthy increase in
pure water flux, arsenate rejection efficiency and aqueous solution flux.
Furthermore, a descending trend in the rejection was illustrated. To
assess the fouling issue, variations in contaminant rejection and flux
were assessed with alterations in the filtration time. Fouling in TFCM
was delayed given the three-dimensional porosity of nanofibers in thin-
film composite membranes. In brief, the thin-film composite mem-
brane, with a superior flux, comparatively better rate of rejection, and
moderately less cost, is a magnificent candidate for separating the
20
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
arsenate micelles from the polluted water. The authors also suggested
that the performance of TFCM can be upgraded by diminishing the
thickness of the topmost layer or modifying its composition.
5.2.3. Polyaniline nanofibers for UF membranes
Polyaniline is a conjugated polymer which has been utilized to
manufacture membranes for gas separation and pervaporation because
of its easy acid/base doping/dedoping chemistry, ecological stability,
facile synthesis and exceptional electronic properties. In recent times,
electrified commercialized Polyvinylidene Fluoride ETNA10PP UF
membranes known as electro-UF membranes have been considered
with the desire of more efficiently diminishing the fouling and up-
grading the selectivity [171]. With this sort of membrane, the rejection
and flux, that principally rely upon concentration polarization and pore
size distribution, could be improved by the usage of an electrical field in
the filtration module. Increased control of fouling in electro-UF has
been credited to the improved electroosmotic and electrophoretic
phenomena along with electrochemical reactions taking place at the
electrodes [172]. Several researchers have stated critical improvements
for the separation of organic acids, arsenic, cryptosporidium, biopoly-
mers, and humic acid with electro-nanofiltration or electro-UF
[173,174,175]. Hence, the advancement of functionalized UF mem-
branes with electrochemically switchable separation properties and
enhanced hydrophilicity can be of extraordinary interest. In recent
years, polyaniline (PANi) nanofiber films have exhibited super-
hydrophilicity due to their porous nanostructures and high surface
energy [176]. Liao Y et al. [22] developed electrically conducting ul-
trafiltration membranes by combining polyaniline/SWCNT nanofibers
into a PSf matrix. By choosing the extent of nanofibers and utilizing a
flash welding procedure, the bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection,
porosity, chemical structure, conductivity, permeability, thermal sta-
bility, and hydrophilicity of these composite ultrafiltration membranes
can be regulated. The incorporation of the PANi/SWCNT nanofibers
developed critical enhancements in the permeability of the membrane,
converting into 2.5–7.3 times original permeability of water and re-
taining significant rejection of BSA from 39.8 to 73.7%, relative to
pristine PSf membrane. By controlling the flash welding intensity, the
BSA rejection, permeability, and conductivity could be upgraded by
approximately 1.5, 2, and 600 times, respectively. The aforestated
thermally stable and robust PANi/SWCNT composite membranes hold
guarantee for the advancement of electro-UF modules for treatment of
water because of their hydrophilicity, adjustable conductivity, solute
rejection, and permeability.
5.2.4. Polyethersulfone nanofibers for UF membranes
Polyethersulfone (PES) has been generally utilized as an ultra-
filtration membrane material in numerous industrial areas because of
its superior performances. Despite that, the hydrophobicity of poly-
ethersulfone membrane makes this polymer problematic to separate
water from water/oil mixtures and sensitive to fouling. This causes a
reduction in water flux permeability in long run and abbreviates life
span of membrane. The properties of membrane, for example, pores
structure, hydrophilicity, and surface roughness are essentially re-
sponsible for the performance of membrane. Various approaches to
upgrade the hydrophilicity as well as antifouling ability of polymer
membranes include surface modification, chemical grafting, and phy-
sical mixing with hydrophilic components. A basic and generally uti-
lized method is to simply blend the pre-developed nanoparticles with
the polymers in solution.
Al-Husaini et al. [177] fabricated an advanced type of UF ENFM
containing the nanoparticle hydrous manganese dioxide (HMO) with
the aim of enhancing the PES-based membrane properties for the ap-
plication in the treatment of synthetic oily solution. In comparison with
the commercially used nanomaterials, the nanoparticle HMO is ob-
served to be progressively hydrophilic in nature. This can be ascribed to
the superhydrophilic nature of HMO due to the enormous amount of
H. Saleem, et al.
-OH functional groups. Two types of treatments were performed in the
investigation by Al-Husaini, I. S. et al. [177] for improving the hydro-
philicity and mechanical property of the polyethersulfone-based
membrane without reducing its water permeance and porosity. Also,
heat treatment was utilized as an efficient way to reinforce and avoid
delamination of the nanofiber mat in the course of the ultrafiltration
process. The HMO-added ENFMs showed a great oil rejection (94.04%
and 97.98%) and a water flux recovery (71.10% and 89.29%) when
utilized to treat a synthetic oily solution consisting of 10,000 or
5000 ppm oil, respectively. The optimum favorable HMO added ENFM
showed significantly higher magnitude of water productivity
(> 7000 LMH) with no reduction in oil removal rate. In particular, this
nanoparticle included membrane demonstrated remarkably lower level
of flux decrease because of enhanced surface resistance against oil
fouling and is promising for longer term operation with increased
lifespan. Superior antifouling and mechanical properties of the ENFMs
is conceivably applicable in the effective treatment of industrial oily
effluents when challenged with oil-in-water emulsions.
5.2.5. Polyvinylalcohol nanofibers for UF membranes
The extremely liquid-permeable electrospun nanofiber membranes
were noted to be outstanding candidates as the porous supporting layer
below the topmost barrier layer for contributing superior flux TFCMs
because of their interconnected pores with both surface porosity as well
as bulk porosity of 80% range [178]. On the basis of the aforemen-
tioned benefit, the thin-film nanofiber composite membranes should
demonstrate remarkable flux rate for filtration of water, relative to
typical thin-film composite. You et al. [179] developed an advanced
class of superior efficiency thin-film nanocomposite UF membrane
based on a polyacrylonitrile nanofiber substrate combined with a hy-
drophilic thin nanocomposite barrier layer manufactured by ES strategy
coupled with solution treatment technique, and has been utilized as a
UF media to isolate an oil/water emulsion. Hydrophilic nanocomposite
barrier was made out of crosslinked polyvinylalcohol thin layer in-
tegrating surface oxidized MWCNTs, and was manufactured by the
immersion of electrospun polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/polyacrylonitrile
nanofiber double-layer mats into optimized solution of acetone/water
and afterward chemically crosslinked by glutaraldehyde in acetone/
water solution. The electrospun polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT nanofiber
topmost layer was swollen to combine gradually into an integrated
barrier film on the supporting layer of polyacrylonitrile. Results ob-
tained from the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) ex-
amination demonstrated that the polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/poly-
acrylonitrile thin-film nanocomposite membrane free volume enhanced
especially with the increment in the concentration of MWCNTs in the
layer of polyvinylalcohol, and also the filtration assessment proved that
the addition of MWCNTs into barrier layer of polyvinylalcohol can
enhance the water flux remarkably, which confirmed that greater effi-
cient water channels have been developed in the nanocomposite barrier
layer with the addition of MWCNTs into the barrier layer of poly-
vinylalcohol. In order to economize the consumption of energy, the
water efficiency of nanocomposite membranes was explored at ex-
tremely lower feeding pressure of 0.1 MPa. Fig. 6 demonstrated the
filtration efficiency of the resultant polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/poly-
acrylonitrile thin-film nanocomposite membranes with 0, 5.0, 10.0, and
15.0 wt% of MWCNTs at low feeding pressure (0.1 MPa). The stable flux
has been seen during the experimental time limit without noticeable
fouling. The polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/polyacrylonitrile thin-film na-
nocomposite membrane (10 wt% MWCNT) had superior water flux
(270.1 LMH) with 99.5% rejection rate at lesser feeding pressure. The
results confirmed that the polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/polyacrylonitrile
thin-film nanocomposite membrane had remarkable anti-fouling prop-
erties and a superior flux at less feeding pressure. Besides, the poly-
vinylalcohol-MWCNT/polyacrylonitrile composite membranes dis-
played excellent overall mechanical properties.
21
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
5.3. Nanofiltration
Nanofiltration (NF) is a membrane-based procedure placed between
UF and RO processes and is utilized for softening of water, separation of
bacteria, viruses, other micropollutants and suspended solids from
water [180]. NF has been developed for desalting low sodium chloride
content water, for example, brackish water. The NF membranes have
the salt rejection ability of 20–80% with increased rejection ability
towards the multivalent ions like SO42−, Mg2+, and Ca2+. Presently,
NF process is rising as a reasonable alternate to typical water treatment
processes, since it can function at lesser pressures, contribute superior
flux and more energy-saving relative to reverse osmosis process. It has
been demonstrated that the permeate flow can be doubled with nano-
filtration, relative to reverse osmosis and by replacing reverse osmosis
with nanofiltration membranes almost 20% of electric power can be
spared [181]. One of the major benefits of NF over RO is that the NF
operation can be carried out at remarkably lesser pressure and hence
the expense of operation can be diminished considerably. Here, we can
categorize on the basis of polymers and nanoparticles using in ES
process.
In recent times, nanofibrous membranes were used for ultrafiltra-
tion (UF) and MF applications due to their propensity to diminish the
water flow resistance (that is, superior water flux) [182]. When elec-
trospun nanofiber membranes were modified using a thin barrier film,
they displayed better NF performance with lesser fouling. At the point
when the treatment of water requires significantly reduced pore sizes as
compared to microfiltration membrane, for example, in the case of NF
as well as UF, precisely utilizing the nanofiber membrane is not prac-
ticable because of their huge sizes of the pore. Henceforth for NF and
UF operations, the NFMs are generally utilized as a supporting layer to
the dynamic thin-film layer prepared by different strategies. In majority
cases, TFCMs are utilized for RO, NF, and UF applications to isolate
extremely smaller constituents from feed water. Ordinary TFCM has a
center layer generally prepared by phase inversion (PI) technique and
works either as a support layer or as a filtration layer apart from the
dynamic barrier layer. Despite the fact that these TFCMs have attained
appropriate efficiency, there is a chance to furthermore upgrade the
membrane design by using a nanofiber layer as a center layer to en-
hance the porosity and eventually the permeation of the entire mem-
brane. The electrospun nanofiber membranes as a support for thin-film
composite (TFC) NF film manufacture have several extraordinary
characteristics than the UF membranes inclusive of superior porosity,
interconnected voids as well as nanocomposite structure of barrier
Fig. 6. Filtration efficiency of the poly(vinyl alcohol)-MWCNT/PAN thin-film
nanocomposite membranes with 0, 5.0, 10.0, and 15.0 wt% of MWCNTs at low
feeding pressure.
Adapted from reference: [179].
H. Saleem, et al. Desalination 478 (2020) 114178

layer. The aforestated benefits of thin-film nanofiber composite NF a charged NF membrane has been manufactured by mixing sulfonated
membrane contribute excellent flux and comparative rejection rates, polyether ketone (SPEEK) with PES in casting solutions. The in-
relative to the traditional nanofiltration membranes [21,22]. In the case corporation of sulfonated polyether ketone will be able to concurrently
of nanofiltration application, the categorization can be done on the enhance the salt rejections and water flux of the membranes. Fig. 7
basis of the polymer supports employed, such as (1) polyethylene ter- demonstrates the water flux and the salt rejections of the membranes
ephthalate (2) polyacrylonitrile and (3) kevlar for improving the with various sulfonated polyether ketone contents in the casting solu-
membrane efficiency. Also, we illustrate here the usage of nanoparticles tions. By the addition of 2–3 wt% (optimized addition content of
like graphene oxide (GO) in the separation process. SPEEK), the membranes displayed 80% salt rejection and approxi-
mately 75 LMH flux. Under the testing condition with identical feed
5.3.1. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofibers for NF membranes solutions, the manufactured electrospun nanofiber membrane sup-
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a notable commercialized ported NF membrane showed an equivalent rejection of 60 to 80% than
polymer utilized as nanofiber support because of its suitable specialties, some typical phase inversion membrane [193,194], however, displayed
for example, recycle capability, superior electrospinning ability, low a considerably higher flux. Additionally, different types of materials as
cost, melt-electrospinning capability, great nanofiber morphology, as well as modification technologies for the outermost layer could be
well as mechanical properties [183,184]. utilized in these membranes, showing that the aforestated advanced
In a research performed by Mahdavi et al. [185], thin-film nanofiber membranes have incredible potential in novel NFs.
composite membranes based on self-supported nanofiber mats were
prepared. PET nanofiber supports were developed by the ES method
5.3.2. Polyacylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers for NF membranes
and then heat treatment was done to improve the mechanical stability
Currently, numerous research studies have been concentrated on
of the nanofiber mats. Later, the IP process was performed for preparing
graphene along with graphene oxide (GO) sheets to prepare nanofil-
thin-film nanofiber composite NF membranes. For the sake of com-
tration media. The GO sheets along with the subsequent membranes
parison, the TFC NF membrane was manufactured by similar conditions
have captivated considerable interest as potential materials for pur-
based on polyethersulfone (PES) UF membrane developed using the PI
ification of water (especially nanofiltration) because of the ultra-fine
technique. So as to avoid nanofiber layer deformation, the bond be-
two dimensional (2-D) framework and most importantly, the small in-
tween the nanofibers has been reinforced by choosing the correct pro-
tersheet nanochannels in the stacked lamellar membrane [195]. GO
portion of mixed solvents (Trifluoroacetic acid/dichloromethane), ES
sheet layer could be easily prepared by filtration of a diluted suspension
process and heat treatment. The filtration efficiency was explored by
over the support membrane [196]. However, it is fairly hard to man-
the water contact angle, rejection, water flux, and molecular weight
ufacture a uniform GO or reduced-graphene oxide (r-GO) sheet layer on
cut-off (MWCO) analyses. It was demonstrated that NF efficiency of the
as-ENFM because of the elevated surface roughness. A very thin layer of
thin-film nanofiber composite membrane is superior to TFCM; the flux
GO on as-electrospun nanofiber membrane will create numerous cracks
of thin-film nanofiber composite membrane was four times greater re-
in the course of drying, probably because of uneven membrane surface
lative to TFCMs and the rejection of thin-film nanofiber composite
topology. This issue could be significantly reduced by just hot pressing
membrane has also been noted to be higher. The enhanced flux in thin-
as-ENFMs, that remarkably enhances the nature of the filtered graphene
film nanofiber composite membranes is probably because of the en-
oxide sheet layers. The aforestated simple and efficient processing
ormous open-pore framework, the lesser hydraulic resistance of the
method is anticipated to enable extensively spread utilization of elec-
nanofiber support and nanocomposite arrangement of fine layer up-
trospun nanofiber membrane for the manufacturing of 2-D materials
grading the water transport capacity. Then again, the efficiency of the
based separation media/membranes. In an examination by Wang Z
PET thin-film nanofiber composite NF membrane was compared with
et al. [197], the group easily overlaid GO sheets over the hot-pressed
other thin-film nanofiber composite NF membranes and it was seen that
PAN based ENFM to develop a crack-free and continuous layer by
the aforestated membrane had a suitable NF efficiency.
simple filtration. The GO layer thickness was adjusted by fixing the
The incorporation of electrospun nanofiber membranes into the
amount of aqueous suspension of GO. The resultant bilayer membranes
phase inversion induced nanofiltration membranes is a practicable
have been independent and delamination-free even after the GO sheet
technique to improve their water flux and reduce the operating pres-
thermal reduction into r-GO sheets. The even surface of hot-pressed
sures at the same time retaining the benefits. The most important factor
PAN nanofiber membrane has been the authorizing factor for the
in manufacturing such membranes is regulating the separating layer
aforementioned type of suitable manufacture. The rejection fractions of
thickness with nanofiber mats below [186]. However, one point that
should be focused on is the casting solution penetration into the elec-
trospun nanofiber membrane pores because of the enormous pores
[187]. Accordingly, modifications are generally employed prior to the
utilization of the electrospun nanofiber membranes. LbL assembly,
which has been developed by Decher [188], is being extensively uti-
lized as a technique for the modification of the filtration membranes
[189], inclusive of electrospun nanofiber membranes [190,191]. High
flux NF membranes were manufactured by Xu et al. [192] by con-
solidating the techniques of electrospinning (ES), LBL assembly as well
as phase inversion. The membranes showed a three-dual structure
consisting of nonwoven supports, layer-by-layer assembly modified
electrospun PET nanofiber mats and PES coating layer. This advanced
kind of electrospun nanofiber membranes supported NF membranes
with surface separation layer of approximately 10 μm was manu-
factured by PI on the layer-by-layer assembly modified PET electrospun
nanofiber membranes. Further, it was proved that the modification by
LBL assembly was essential for effective membrane manufacturing.
With the optimized technical conditions, the membrane displayed ex- Fig. 7. Water flux and the salt rejections of the membranes with various sul-
cellent separation efficiency with 50–60% salt rejection and 50–60 L/ fonated polyether ketone (SPEEK) contents in the casting solutions.
m2/h (LMH) flux. So as to additionally enhance the rejection property, Adapted from Reference [192].

22
H. Saleem, et al.
GO-based PAN membranes for NaCl and MgSO4 have been 40% or
lesser because of the moderately extensive nanochannels (approxi-
mately 0.79 nm) present in the GO layers. Following the thermal re-
duction for 12 h at 150 °C, around 90% MgSO4 was separated essen-
tially because of size exclusion of the resultant r-GO layer. Also, the
water flux values of the PAN-r-GO and PAN-GO membranes have been
extensively greater as compared to the values of other NF media/
membranes detailed in the literature, and this was to some extent as-
cribed to the superior porosity of hot-pressed PAN electrospun nano-
fiber membrane. Hence, the hot-pressed electrospun polymeric nano-
fiber membranes stated in the work could be a common platform to
assist different 2-D sheets for exceedingly effective and affordable se-
paration of (hydrated) ions and dissolved components (for example,
organic molecules) and from water.
5.3.3. Kevlar nanofiber for NF membranes
Kevlar possesses a superior chemical resistance in harsh conditions
and has an extraordinary resistance to the most generally utilized sol-
vents due to the higher amount of intermolecular hydrogen bondings,
and could only be dissolved in conc. sulphuric acid, that makes it an
ideal polymer for the manufacturing of solvent resistant membranes.
However, the utilization of aggressive conc. sulphuric acid as solvent
for preparing dope solutions significantly restricts the use of Kevlar in
the membrane technology area. The utilization of firmly corrosive
sulphuric acid as solvent in the preparation of membrane not just makes
the membrane manufacturing process not “green”, however it also in-
volves significant danger. Hence, the fabrication of solvent resistant
Kevlar membrane by utilizing a noncorrosive as well as greener solvent
would be a significant improvement in the advancement of Kevlar into
membrane application.
Membrane science, particularly organic solvent nanofiltration
(OSN), is a green procedure with respect to its operational stability,
lower energy utilization, and superior efficiency, and in this manner
performs a significant role in the reuse and purification of solvents
[198,199]. In general, the organic solvent nanofiltration membranes
are utilized to isolate solutes from solvents having a molecular weight
cut-off extending from 200 Da to 1000 Da, and pore size ranging from
0.5 nm–2.0 nm [200,201]. The OSN membranes are developing as an
effective separation technology in chemical procedures, for example,
organics extraction, solvent recycling, and catalyst recovery [202,203].
Polymer OSN membranes have received immense attention in the
field of OSN because of their relatively lower expense and simplicity of
scaling up. On the other hand, the manufacturing process are still
complicated, and utilize a huge amount of vigorous solvents and in
some cases pose a safety risk in synthesis, bringing about a negative
ecological impact. In the investigation performed by Yuan S et al.
[204], thin Kevlar nanofiber organic solvent NF membranes were
manufactured by means of a simple as well as green thermal treatment
by utilizing greener solvent. Rather than conc. sulphuric acid, a greener
solvent, that is, a Dimethyl sulfoxide- Potassium hydroxide/water
mixture was utilized for developing a dope solution consisting of the
Kevlar nanofibers. Subsequently, preparation of hydrogel UF mem-
branes was done and a thermal treatment was applied to change the
hydrogel UF membrane into a solvent safe NF membrane with no
consumption of extra solvents as well as crosslinking agents by the
hydrogen bond regeneration. The obtained nanofibrous membrane
possessed a Rose Bengal (water soluble dye) rejection of about 95.4%
surpassing most of the other polymer based pristine organic solvent
nanofiltration membranes generated by PI method. The aforestated
contributes the Kevlar membrane a superior baseline for additional
modification so as to enhance the efficiency. Further, the Kevlar NF
membranes retain a comparatively constant rejection of dye in the
course of filtration of a dye solution for 6 h and maintain a rejec-
tion > 94% after being treated by various solvents for seven days, re-
presenting an increased solvent resistance. Moreover, this study enables
the fabrication as well as utilization of Kevlar fibers in membranes by a
23
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
greener and non-corrosive solvent, which might open up new possibi-
lities and techniques for developing Kevlar into NF membranes appli-
cations.
Piperazine (PIP)-based nanofiltration membrane synthesized from
the IP process between the trimesoyl chloride (TMC) in the organic
phase and piperazine in aqueous solution are standard nanofiltration
membranes [205,206,207]. The piperazine-based nanofiltration mem-
brane generally have a better flux and an excellent multivalent rejection
(> 95%), while the rejection of monovalent ion ranges from 0 to 60%
[208,209,210,211,212,213,214]. A unique m-phenylenediamine-based
thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane was effectively fabricated
by Li Y. Wong et al. [215] through IP process on a nanofiber hydrogel
substrate succeeded by solvent treatment. Dimethylformamide solvent
treatment adjusted the surface morphology of the membrane by the
removal of the top “leaf-like” polyamide layers and diminished the
membrane surface roughness. Also, the surface hydrophilicity of the
membrane improved remarkably and the surface zeta potential di-
minished when exposed to dimethylformamide. The desalination effi-
ciency of the aramid nanofiber TFCM moved from reverse osmosis into
nanofiltration. Nanofiltration tests illustrated that the aramid nanofiber
TFCM had superior rejections of divalent ions and a higher rejection
rates of monovalent ions. When compared to the commercially used
membranes (NF90, NF270), the fabricated membrane demonstrated a
competitive separation efficiency in molecular separation as well as in
water desalination. The aramid nanofiber TFCM likewise out-performed
the recently reported superior piperazine-based nanofiltration mem-
branes with respect to salt rejection. The recently designed aramid
nanofiber thin-film composite NF membrane has incredible potential in
scaling-up for industrial utilization because of the simple synthesis
process and the reproducible as well as great desalination performance.
5.4. Forward osmosis
Forward osmosis (FO) is considered to be a naturally happening
physical phenomenon and is the water transportation over a selectively
permeable membrane forced by the osmotic pressure variation over a
membrane [216]. The FO membrane perfectly permits just the water
molecule passage across it whereas dismissing the movement of solute
molecules or ions. The difference in concentration of solute present in
the solutions isolated by the membrane can cause a distinction in os-
motic pressure, that forces the natural motion of water from the solu-
tion consisting of low solute concentration (feed solution) against the
solution with high solute concentration (draw solution). FO became
well known back in the 1800s and it has got extensive applications.
Besides the fact that it was utilized for water treatment and desalination
of seawater, this process is also being utilized in food preservation, food
processing, and anti-microbial applications [216,217], however, it is
considerably less examined and developed relative to other desalination
and water treatment processes, in particular, RO. One of the reasons
behind this constraint in the research and advancement of forward
osmosis is the absence of membranes that are specifically designed for
forward osmosis [218,219]. Currently, TFCMs are the most manu-
factured and utilized membranes for the osmotic procedure. Primarily
intended for pressure-driven procedures, for example, RO [220], the
TFCMs are commonly made out of a very thin PA selective layer over
porous membrane support. The active PA layer is produced by means of
IP process of two monomer solutions, organic multifunctional aromatic
acid halide and aqueous aromatic amine [221]. Nanofiber-supported
TFCMs utilized for water-based separation procedures have become the
topic of different examinations during the past [128,138,222,223,224].
The electrospinning technique for nanofiber membrane is a useful and
non-expensive strategy, however, this technique is still constrained by
the optimization of electrospinning condition, choice of explicit mate-
rials appropriate for specific applications, post-treatment of nanofiber
[225], swelling of membrane [226], strength and stability of nanofiber
[227], and weak bonding of the selective PA layer with the nanofiber
H. Saleem, et al.
membrane support [138]. The aforestated drawbacks have been fo-
cused on in different researches, yet cost, practicability, and stability of
the technique still could not seem to be completely optimized. The
TFCMs for FO process have demonstrated in the past to have the ability
to accomplish remarkably increased water flux and rejection of salt,
relative to the first generation of commercially-used CA membrane
[228]. A perfect FO membrane ought to have superior water flux,
minimal concentration polarization (ICP), and less salt reverse,
[229,230]. The addition of bulky polymers [231], nanomaterials [232],
and surfactants [233], or a molecular LBL IP technique [234], might be
carried out to upgrade the selectivity of the PA selective layer. Despite
that, an increase in water permeability usually improves salt perme-
ability too; subsequently, a balance between the two parameters of the
membrane should be accomplished. The electrospun nanofiber mem-
branes display excellent porosity by means of its interconnected pore
framework [218] and this characteristic enables it an appropriate
candidate for the membrane substrate for FO utilization. Different types
of polymers such as polysulfone (PSf) [138], polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
[235], polyvinyl alcohol [222], polyethersulfone (PES) [128], and
polyvinylidene fluoride [218] could be utilized for the ES process. The
polymeric membranes for FO procedures could be manufactured by
means of different methods such as electrospinning, phase inversion
and hollow fiber spinning [236,237]. In general, superior osmotic flux
and less structural parameter values have been accomplished for
ENFMs, permitting it an appropriate strategy for the manufacture of
forward osmosis membranes. For the FO utilization, the categorization
can be done based on the polymer supports utilized, such as (1) poly-
vinylidene fluoride (2) polyacrylonitrile (3) polyimide and (4) poly-
sulfone, used either individually or as blend for improving the mem-
brane efficiency.
5.4.1. Polyvinylidine fluoride nanofibers for FO membranes
A quicker way towards generating commercially used superior-
performance forward osmosis membranes is to adopt practical methods
during the manufacturing of membrane. PVDF is an established mem-
brane material which is characterized by its better chemical and me-
chanical stabilities. On the other hand, the PVDF hydrophobicity might
not be appropriate for forward osmosis membrane due to the fact that
the existence of the hydrophobic support layer of the forward osmosis
membrane induced the membrane wettability as well as the solvent
transport [238]. Further, the membrane dehydration effectively hap-
pens particularly when extreme salinity water is utilized as the draw
solution (DS), which lessens the effective area of diffusion thereby en-
hancing internal concentration polarization (ICP) and diminishing for-
ward osmosis flux.
Hydrophobic electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride NFM support was
effectively modified by Park et al. [225] through poly(vinyl alcohol) dip
coating along with acid-catalyzed crosslinking utilizing glutaraldehyde
(GA) to manufacture a superior performance thin-film composite-FO
membrane. The polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber with hydrophobic
Fig. 8. Mechanical properties of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) heat-treated support, PVDF non-heat treated support and PVDF-poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) support at
wet as well as dry conditions.
After courtesy of [225].
24
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
nature first experienced heat-press treatment before poly(vinyl alcohol)
dip coating and the crosslinking process so as to lessen the swelling of
the membrane in water and further to improve the mechanical prop-
erties of the membrane. The mechanical properties of polyvinylidene
fluoride heat-treated support, polyvinylidene fluoride non-heat treated
support and polyvinylidene fluoride-poly(vinyl alcohol) support at wet
as well as dry conditions are presented in Fig. 8. The variations in the
mechanical properties among wet and dry specimens for the three
membranes were actually under 10%, which did not appear to be very
important. The aforementioned demonstrated the remarkable benefit of
utilizing hydrophobic electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber
mat having hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) dip coating in place of a
completely hydrophilic electrospun support mat which swells as well as
loses its mechanical properties on water wetting due to the fact that the
hydrophobic characteristics of electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride re-
strict the swelling of membrane [218]. The poly(vinyl alcohol) nano-
fiber dip coating remarkably upgraded the hydrophilicity of membrane
without reducing the porosity of membrane support. This, therefore,
brought about a remarkable decrease in the ICP effects and subse-
quently enhancements in the efficiency of FO with respect to water flux
as well as the ratio of solute fluxes to water fluxes. The most reduced
structural parameter value of 154 μm was accomplished for the thin-
film composite-FO membrane coated with poly(vinyl alcohol) and its
performances were practically identical with other superior perfor-
mance forward osmosis membranes stated in the same literature [225].
Therefore, this investigation demonstrated that poly(vinyl alcohol) dip
coating of the nanofiber membrane support is a beneficial technique for
enhancing the membrane support layer hydrophilic property and it very
well may be a practical choice in the manufacturing of superior per-
formance thin-film composite-FO membranes. Despite the fact that
numerous positive as well as promising results are stated on the na-
nofiber utilization as the center layer for forward osmosis process,
formation of a uniform, robust, dynamic layer over a rough surface of
nanofiber is as yet a challenge.
In the specific examination carried out by Gonzales R et al. [239], a
realistic consolidation of molecular LbL method, electrospinning, and IP
was done for improving the selectivity and hydrophilicity of the
membranes, along with the proper bonding of the selective PA layer on
the nanofiber membrane support. Here, a superior performance elec-
trospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber-supported TFCM was effec-
tively manufactured subsequent to molecular LbL polyelectrolyte de-
position. The negatively charged electrospun polyacrylic acid (PAA)
nanofibers have been deposited on electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride
nanofibers for generating a support layer comprising of PAA and
polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers. This developed an extra hydrophilic
support relative to the original polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber
membrane support. The PAA-polyvinylidene fluoride support later ex-
perienced an LbL deposition of PAA and polyethylenimine for gen-
erating a polyelectrolyte layer on the surface of nanofiber preceding IP
process, that generates TFCM film composite membrane displayed
H. Saleem, et al.
Fig. 9. Comparison of the efficiency of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-LbL TFCM and PVDF TFCM in the course of FO process at FO mode and pressure retarded
osmosis (PRO) mode, and then compared with the effectiveness of the commercially used CTA membrane having DI water and 0.5 M NaCl as the feed and draw
solutions, respectively.
After courtesy of [239].
improved porosity and hydrophilicity, without compromising the me-
chanical strength. The Fig. 9 demonstrates the efficiency of the poly-
vinylidene fluoride LbL TFCM and polyvinylidene fluoride TFCM in the
course of forward osmosis process at forward osmosis mode and pres-
sure retarded osmosis (PRO) mode, and then compared with the ef-
fectiveness of the commercially used CTA membrane having deionized
water (DI water) and 0.5 M NaCl as the feed and draw solutions, re-
spectively. Out of the 3 membranes tested, the membrane poly-
vinylidene fluoride-LbL showed the greatest water flux values of 28.3
and 24.1 LMH for PRO and FO mode, respectively, succeeded by the
polyvinylidene fluoride-based TFCM with values about 10.4 LMH (for
pressure retarded osmosis mode) and 8.0 LMH (for forward osmosis
mode). In the case of commercially used CTA membrane, the water
fluxes of PRO mode and FO mode was 6.7 LMH and 5.4 LMH, respec-
tively, and this membrane was the least efficient one, relative to the
other two membranes. Furthermore, the commercially used CTA
membrane demonstrated the most reduced water flux values, it ad-
ditionally displayed increased specific reverse salt flux, relative to the
TFCMs. It can be clearly noted that all the three membranes showed
decreased reverse salt flux as well as water flux under the forward os-
mosis mode, relative to the pressure retarded osmosis mode, and this
was due to the dilutive internal concentration polarization (ICP) inside
the membrane support layer, that remarkably decreased the osmotic
pressure difference in the course of FO mode [225]. Also, the poly-
vinylidene fluoride-LbL TFCM demonstrated low structural parameter
value and increased pristine water permeability of 221 μm and
4.12 Lm−2h−1bar−1, respectively, considerably better relative to
commercially used FO membrane. Thus, the authors concluded that the
LbL deposition of polyelectrolyte is hence a practical and useful mod-
ification technique for manufacturing superior performance nanofiber
supported TFCM.
Fig. 10. Diagrammatic representation of fabrication of electrospun nanofiber supported TFC membrane.
After courtesy of [240].
25
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
5.4.2. Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for FO membranes
Developing pollutants, inclusive of pharmaceuticals, disinfection
byproducts, and personal care products, are of enhancing concern, that
could damage the ecological security and human health. In an in-
vestigation performed by Pan S. F et al. [240], self-sustained electro-
spun PAN nanofiber supported PA based TFCM (PA/PAN-eTFCM) was
fabricated, and examined for the treatment of simulated tetracycline
(TC) wastewater. The fabrication of nanofiber supported TFCM was
diagrammatically represented in Fig. 10, which was categorized into
two separate stages: (1) manufacturing of nanofiber support and (2)
interfacial polymerization (IP) of PA layer. Particularly, a poly-
acrylonitrile nanofiber support was manufactured by electrospinning
with no backing layer. The polyacrylonitrile nanofiber support was
subsequently laminated using a paper laminator. This laminated na-
nofiber support showed great hydrophilicity as well as mechanical
properties with strain, stress, and water contact angle of 68 ± 0.28%,
13 ± 0.77 Mpa, and 32.3 ± 1.3°, respectively. The PA composited
membrane developed consequently exhibited an increased permselec-
tivity (A = 1.47 LMH bar−1 and B = 0.278 LMH), low structural para-
meter (S = 168 μm), and accomplished > 57 LMH water flux utilizing
2 M salt as the draw solution. The PA/PAN-eTFCM was effectively
utilized in a membrane distillation−forward osmosis (MD–FO) hybrid
process for simulated TC wastewater treatment and production of water
for the first time. The rejection of TC was > 99.9%, and a water re-
covery of about 15–22% was attained after 7 h running in the MD–FO
hybrid operation. At the same time, the PA/PAN-eTFCM displayed a
moderately longer stable performance in the hybrid framework. The
aforestated results demonstrate the utilization of PA/PAN-eTFCM as a
potential FO membrane for wastewater treatment.
There still exist a few issues for nanofiber-based FO membrane, for
example, poor interfacial strength between support layer and active
H. Saleem, et al.
layer, easy deformation, and low separation. In a study by Shi Jie et al.
[241], the polyacrylonitrile nanofiber was undergone surface mod-
ification using the hydrolysis technique to develop a hydrophilic na-
nofiber surface, in order to enhance the permeability and diminish the
internal concentration polarization (ICP) effect in forward osmosis
process. Subsequently, the hydrolyzed nanofiber-based forward osmosis
membranes were fabricated as well as tailored by including a chitosan
(CS) sub-layer to bind as well as bridge active layer and nanofiber mat.
The physical property and structure of polyacrylonitrile/chitosan
composite support layers were optimized by modifying the concentra-
tion of CS. The results demonstrated that increment in the concentra-
tion of CS caused a continual decrease in the water flux of composite
forward osmosis membranes and the salt flux diminished first and later
increased. The salt rejection attained 97% and the reverse salt flux was
just 0.93 g/m2·h in forward osmosis mode when the CS casting solution
concentration was 3.5% (CS-3.5), that displayed the least value among
the nanofiber-based forward osmosis membranes mentioned in litera-
tures. The extensive performances of CS-3.5 accomplished an ideal
level, possessing both better filtration performances and appropriate
mechanical strength. Also, the aforestated study illustrated that the
manufactured composite forward osmosis membranes with poly-
acrylonitrile/chitosan composite support layers accomplished 90 Mpa
Youngs modulus and 30 Mpa tensile strength, which was similar to
most of the published nanofiber-based and phase inversion substrates.
The subsequent water flux of the optimum composite forward osmosis
membrane was 55.05 LMH in FO mode. The structural parameter of
Chitosan-3.5 was about 203 μm. The inclusion of chitosan sub-layer
contributes a miraculous effect on the mechanical and filtration per-
formance of forward osmosis membrane, which is significant to break
the obstructions in forward osmosis process.
5.4.3. Polyimide nanofibers for FO membranes
Polyimide (PI) material is known for its exceptional chemical re-
sistance, thermal stability, and mechanical property. Relative to the
commonly utilized substrates, the average pore size of the PI nanofiber
substrate is comparatively bigger, which is designed for minimizing the
permeability resistance.
In the case of hydrophobic substrates, the modification is used to
deal with the decrease in the mechanical properties of the fibers in the
course of forward osmosis process. Because of hydrophilicity mod-
ification, the aforestated substrates show better wettability for inter-
facial polymerization (IP) with no swelling. Mainly, there are two pri-
mary methods for hydrophilicity modification. First one is the surface
modification, and the other one is the blending modification of different
hydrophilicity additives. A unique IP process on PI microporous na-
nofiber membrane support with 1.27 μm mean pore size was reported
by Chi, X. Y et al. [242]. Utilizing organic phase monomer trimesoyl
Fig. 11. Schematic portrayal of the manufacturing of TFC forward osmosis PI based nanofiber membranes.
After courtesy of [242].
26
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
chloride (TMC), aqueous phase monomer m-phenylenediamine (MPD),
and aqueous phase co-solvent ethanol, the thin-film composite FO
membrane was prepared by two interfacial polymerization procedures,
as presented in Fig. 11. The initial interfacial polymerization procedure
with the unusual order (i.e., the membrane was first immersed in the
trimesoyl chloride organic phase, subsequently in the co-solvent
ethanol-water m-phenylenediamine aqueous phase) was utilized to re-
duce the pore size of polyimide microporous nanofiber membrane
support for the preparation of the PA layer. The second interfacial
polymerization procedure was utilized to develop the moderately dense
PA layer with the conventional order (i.e., the membrane was first
immersed in the co-solvent ethanol-water m-phenylenediamine aqu-
eous phase, and then in the trimesoyl chloride organic phase). The test
results demonstrated that greater ethanol concentration resulted in
relatively increased pure water permeability in reverse osmosis process
and osmotic water flux in forward osmosis process, whereas the salt
rejection in reverse osmosis process diminished and the reverse salt flux
enhanced. The obtained results could be credited to the impact of the
addition of ethanol into aqueous phase on the surface morphology,
hydrophilicity and PA layer structure.
5.4.4. Polysulfone/Polyacrylonitrile blend nanofibers for FO membranes
A perfect membrane for the forward osmosis process must have the
below mentioned features: higher rejection of solute, better water
permeability, adequate mechanical strength, and lower ICP. ICP is
considered as an inevitable phenomenon in osmotic pressure-based
membrane process which happens inside the membrane support layer.
For diminishing the ICP, different methods to upgrade the hydro-
philicity of the FO membrane support could be utilized. The polymer
blending is one of the efficient strategies to accomplish advanced
properties of the polymer solution with less intricacy. The blending of
the polymers not just upgrades the properties of single polymer fabri-
cated membrane but also upgrades the membrane water flux by the
decreasing ICP flux of the membrane. In fact, the membranes demon-
strate higher permeability relative to membrane developed from single
polymer.
Polysulfone (PSf) is regarded as a perfect polymer in the membrane
industries due to its superior properties, for example, thermal, che-
mical, and mechanical resistance, along with its low cost. However, PSf
is a hydrophobic polymer, that must be undergone modification using
suitable techniques. The mixing of polysulfone along with a polymer
possessing increased spinnability and hydrophilicity (for example
polyacrylonitrile, PAN) could be utilized to diminish the ICP. The work
by Shokrollahzadeh S. et al. [134] examined the impact of an advanced
polymer blend of polyacrylonitrile/polysulfone (PAN/PSf) nanofibers
fabricated by means of electrospinning procedure as substrate to de-
velop thin-film composite FO membrane. In the electrospinning
H. Saleem, et al.
process, the solvents were optimized. A thin-layer of PA was effectively
manufactured on the electrospun nanofibrous substrate by means of IP
process. The efficiency of the nanofiber-based TFCM was compared
with the in-house-made (PAN/PSf) TFCM, where its substrate was
manufactured by PI process. The nanofiber-based TFCM showed re-
markable enhancement in water permeability as well as hydrophilicity,
and the reverse salt flux was decreased. Further, the structural para-
meter (S) value of the manufactured nanofiber-based TFCM diminished
significantly, which indicated the decrease in the ICP during the for-
ward osmosis process. The aforestated results were because of the
structural characteristics of the nanofiber, for example, interconnected
open pore structure and better porosity. The impacts of various salts as
draw solutions (MgSO4, MgCl2, KCl, NaCl) on the osmotic performance
of the TFCMs and nanofiber-based TFCMs were assessed. The water flux
of the fabricated forward osmosis membranes as a function of various
draw solutions are presented in Fig. 12. Out of the various salts tested
under the equivalent osmotic pressure, the greatest water flux was at-
tained utilizing the KCl draw solution, whereas the MgSO4 draw solu-
tion showed the worst performance in both the TFCMs and nanofiber-
based TFCMs. The nanofiber-based TFCMs displayed greater water flux
compared to that of the TFCM for KCl draw solution.
5.5. Membrane distillation
Membrane distillation (MD) is one of the developing desalination
technologies for the generation of clean water. This is a thermally-
driven water separation procedure, wherein just vapor molecules can
pass through a permeable hydrophobic membrane. Relative to other
alternative systems, MD possess numerous benefits, for example,
greater rejection of salt, lesser energy utilization and lesser functioning
temperature than typical distillation processes. Also, the hydrostatic
weight pressure encountered in this process is lesser than that utilized
in pressure-driven membrane operations such as RO. In this manner,
MD is anticipated to be an economic process, that requires lower de-
manding of membrane features as well. In this respect, more affordable
material can be associated with it, for example, plastic, thus reducing
corrosion issues. As indicated by the standard of vapor–liquid equili-
brium, the membrane distillation procedure has an elevated rejection
factor. In actuality, entire separation happens. Also, the pore size of the
membrane needed for MD is moderately bigger relative to those for
alternate membrane separation procedures, for instance, RO. In this
manner, the MD procedure experiences reduced fouling. Also, the
membrane distillation structure has the possibility to be joined with
other separation procedures to make an integrated separation frame-
work, for example, with an RO unit [243] or with UF unit [244]. The
process MD is competitive for desalination of seawater as well as
brackish water [245]. Besides, MD can use alternate energy sources, for
example, solar energy [246]. Also, MD has been utilized for the
radioactive waste treatment, where the safe discharge of the product to
the environment could be achieved [247]. Additionally, MD is a com-
petent procedure for separating organic along with heavy metals from
wastewater [248], and from aqueous solution [249]. At the same time,
the MD process has some drawbacks, for example, lower permeate flux,
great susceptibility permeate flux to the temperature and concentration
of the feed conditions because of the temperature and concentration
polarization phenomenon.
Various kinds of membranes, as well as filtration systems, are uti-
lized in water treatment procedures dependent on their particle filtra-
tion and pore sizes. For the process MD, the polymer membranes ought
to exhibit superior permeability in addition to hydrophobicity with
absence of wetting, good chemical stability, thermal stability over a
wide scope of temperatures, narrow pores, and have superior me-
chanical strength [250,251]. Membranes must be arranged as mem-
brane modules which could be a plate, spiral wound, and hollow fiber
type for practical utilization. For a proficient membrane module, the
principal factors are a membrane possessing superior packing density,
27
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
low maintenance and operating costs, great control of membrane
fouling, excellent control of concentration polarization, and further-
more economical production [252]. Out of the different techniques to
generate MD membranes, electrospinning is considered to be a viable
and straightforward approach to manufacture persistently polymeric
nanofiber membranes with nanoscale and microscale fibers. These
membranes, prepared from the electrospinning process, possess great
surface-to-volume ratio and superior porosity, which facilitate the ap-
plication in filtration operations [142]. At the same time, the uniform
nanofiber structures prepared by plain polymer dopes with no hydro-
phobic additives are normally not considered to be superhydrophobic
[253]. In general, the LbL assembly is introduced into the electrospun
fibers for generating a surface with superhydrophobicity [254]. Taking
into account the properties of effective membranes, nanofibers appear
to be a decent candidate for the process MD. For majority cases, the
polymer polyvinylidene fluoride is favored because of its spinnability as
well as its solubility [8,255].
At present, the electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENFMs) has re-
ceived considerable attention in membrane distillation because of its
benefits such as increased porosity, interconnected pore structure, and
controllable pore size, that are noted to be the fundamental factors
which affect the permeability. On the other hand, the longer term
durability in the course of membrane distillation process should be
additionally considered because of the lack of the surface hydro-
phobicity. Consequently, more consideration has been focused on the
study of the explicitly designed superhydrophobic membranes due to
the lifting-up effect for membrane distillation flux and the improved
wetting resistance, which made these membranes potential candidates
for membrane distillation process with improved salt rejection, per-
meability along with fouling resistance. Also, it can be noted that the
superhydrophobic surface possessing the self-cleaning nature will be
much advantageous to cause the feed liquid sliding over the surface of
membrane like the lotus effect instead of adhering and subsequently
penetrating into the interfiber spacing simply like the petal effect [256].
By the introduction of readily roughened nanomaterials or/and
hydrophobic agent, substantial efforts have been devoted to develop
superhydrophobic surfaces dependent on nanofibers for membrane
distillation, inclusive of surface modified electrospun nanofiber mem-
branes [257,258], composite electrospun nanofiber membranes
[259,260,261,262], and mixed matrix electrospun nanofiber mem-
branes [263]. For instance, the manufacture of self-roughened super-
hydrophobic ENFMs was reported by the modification of PVDF nano-
fiber surface with fluorododecyltrichlorosilane (FTCS) utilizing the
solution immersion strategy, demonstrating an increased water contact
Fig. 12. Water flux of fabricated thin-film composite and nano-fiber based thin
film composite membrane.
After courtesy of [134].
H. Saleem, et al.
angle (WCA) of about 160.2° [264]. As regards the mixed matrix
electrospun nanofiber membranes, the nanomaterials or their pre-
cursors have been straightly blended with polymer solutions for
creating extra roughness in the course of electrospinning process, at the
same time, the hydrophobic agents were generally used to bring down
the surface free energy. Particularly for composite ENFMs, the multi-
layer framework comprised of an overlayer deposited onto a porous
nanofiber scaffold, that have different utilizations in the domain of
water treatment because of their benefit of increased rejection as well
as great permeability [265]. During the MD process, the polymeric
coating only or consolidated with nanomaterials were developed onto
the nanofiber support, where the porous scaffold-like nanofibrous
substrate demonstrated lower resistance for vapor transport and great
mechanical support and the thin top barrier layer contributed the se-
lectivity role. Despite that, the utilization of nanomaterials as well as
hydrophobic agent may cause security issue along with environmental
contamination, and the complicated modification procedure and lower
usage of functional additives embedded in polymer matrix likewise
enhanced the cost of membrane cost [263,266].
Typically, there are four distinctive membrane distillation config-
urations inclusive of air gap membrane distillation (AGMD), vacuum
membrane distillation (VMD), direct contact membrane distillation
(DCMD), and sweeping gas membrane distillation, where the heat and
mass transfer happen simultaneously [267]. In the following section,
we can categorize the application of nanofiber membranes on the basis
of different membrane distillation configurations. It has to be noted that
ENFM utilization in membrane distillation are mainly concentrated on
the DCMD, even though both AGMD and VMD have insufficiently re-
ported, these techniques also have been considered in this paper.
However, there is not much information available on the utilization of
nanofiber membranes for the sweeping gas membrane distillation
configuration.
5.5.1. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD)
Relative to other three procedures, DCMD is considered to be the
simplest and well-known function mode, confirmed by the reality that
over 60% of researches based on MD are about DCMD [268]. In general,
the hydrophobic nanofiber membranes have superior hydrophobicity,
adjustable pore sizes, great surface porosity, flexible membrane thick-
ness, that enable them an interesting candidate as a membrane for the
MD process. One of the benefits of ENFMs is the diversity of the poly-
mers in manufacturing the membrane distillation membranes. Instead
of the limited option of the polymers for commercially utilized MD
membranes manufacture, different kinds of polymers could be em-
ployed to manufacture the ENFMs. For the DCMD utilization, the
classification can be done on the basis of the polymers used, such as (1)
polyvinylidene fluoride and (2) fluoropolymers for improving the effi-
ciency of membrane.
5.5.1.1. Polyvinylidine fluoride nanofibers for DCMD utilization. In a
research carried out by Liao Y et al. [255], the team explored the
achievability and optimization of electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride
nanofiber membranes utilized for DCMD procedure to generate
drinking water. For enhancing and stabilizing the performance of the
nanofiber membrane in the DCMD procedure, the properties and
structures of resultant membranes were optimized by regulating a
range of factors inclusive of spinning parameters and polymer dope
compositions. From the experimental results, it was noted that
electrospinning process parameters and polymer dope solution
properties are principal factors for determining the structure of the
membrane. By controlling the concentration of polymer and including
appropriate additives in the polymer dope solution, the nanofibers
having a short diameter can be manufactured and membranes
developed by the nanofibers have limited pore sizes. From the surface
contact angle analysis, it was noted that the entire electrospun
polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber membranes showed a rougher
28
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
surface along with superior hydrophobicity. In addition, the heat-
press post-treatment is regarded as an essential procedure for
improving fresh NFM integrity, to increase the permeation flux of
water and assist to preclude membrane pores from wetting during the
DCMD process. The polyvinylidene fluoride post-treated NFMs had the
option to contribute a consistent water permeation flux of around
21 kg m−2 h−1 across the whole trial of 15 h, that was noted to be 100%
higher relative to the untreated original membrane. The benefits of the
post-treated membranes relative to original membranes include the
enhancement in permeation flux and extraordinary reduction in
membrane pore wetting. Clearly, even the heat-press treatment
diminished the electrospun membrane porosity, the advantages
acquired from adaptive heat-press treatment are above the negative
effects of membrane distillation utilization. The obtained conclusions
were superior to those of commercially used polyvinylidene fluoride
membranes and the nanofiber polyvinylidene fluoride-clay membrane
stated in the same article, recommending the proficiency of
polyvinylidene fluoride ENFMs for DCMD utilization.
There are a few research studies reported so far on unsupported
dual-layered hydrophilic/hydrophobic ENFMs for desalination by air
gap membrane distillation and DCMD [269]. Khayet M. et al. [270]
showed that double layered ENFMs comprising of two polymers of
distinct hydrophobicities exhibit better direct contact membrane dis-
tillation desalination performance relative to single layer ENFMs fab-
ricated under similar electrospinning time. The membrane was fabri-
cated using the hydrophilic polymer polysulfone (PSF) and the
hydrophobic polymer PVDF. The manufactured double-layered ENFMs
showed a table and cohesive fiber structure with an irregular fiber
distribution and more open polysulfone layer web framework relative
to the poly(vinylidene fluoride) layer. The direct contact membrane
distillation permeate flux of the double layered ENFMs was observed to
be greater relative to the single-layered poly(vinylidene fluoride) ENFM
and it enhanced with increment in the thickness of the polysulfone
layer. The direct contact membrane distillation permeate flux of the
double layered ENFMs attained values of 53.6, 49.9 and 47.7 LMH and
salt rejection factor of 99.99% for the dual layered membrane with
80 °C feed temperature, 20 °C permeate temperature and a salt con-
centration of 0, 12 and 30 g/L, respectively. Despite that, under iden-
tical conditions, the direct contact membrane distillation permeate flux
of the electrospun single layer poly(vinylidene fluoride) ENFM was
noted to be lesser (that is, 36.1, 34.0 and 32.9 LMH) with additionally
higher salt rejection factors.
The antiwetting ability of ENFMs can be lowered by diminishing the
pore size or enhancing the surface hydrophobicity. The accessibility of
uniquely designed membrane distillation membranes, that can satisfy
the necessities for membrane distillation procedure, for example, su-
perior hydrophobicity for avoiding wetting of membrane and great
porosity to improve permeation of vapor, is one of the problems to be
handled for membrane distillation industry utilization. Basically, the
techniques used to accomplish superhydrophobic surfaces are to en-
hance roughness of the surface and later surface modification with
energy-efficient as well as non-polar molecules. It can also be noted that
surface roughness is generally more significant than the less surface
energy, due to the fact that both exceptionally hydrophobic and mod-
erately hydrophobic materials can have comparable superhydrophobic
characteristics whenever it is roughened. In the research carried out by
Yuan Liao et al. [126], a simple technique for the generation of nano-
fiber membranes with superhydrophobicity by surface modification
was investigated. Two types of polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber
membranes with superhydrophobicity, i.e., surface-modified and in-
tegrally-modified polyvinylidene fluoride membranes, were effectively
manufactured by ES technique succeeded by modification of surface,
that involves dopamine surface activation, deposition of silver (Ag) as
well as hydrophobic treatment. The aforestated modification is ad-
vantageous on account of wide applicability and mild reactions. These
unique composite nanofiber membranes were characterized by several
H. Saleem, et al.
measures and tested against commercially used polyvinylidene fluoride
flat sheet membrane for membrane distillation utilization. From the
different characterizations, it was recognized that the modifications
have changed the topology as well as the morphology of the membrane
surface and contributed superhydrophobic property to the membrane
because of their hierarchical structures. Relative to the unmodified
membrane, the integrally-modified membrane (I-PVDF) accomplished a
stable and high water flux of 31.6 LMH utilizing a 3.5 wt% concentra-
tion of NaCl as the feed solution, when the permeate and feed tem-
peratures have been fixed at 293 K and 333 K, respectively. As indicated
by Yuan Liao et al. [126], the results attained were better than all other
polyvinylidene fluoride flat-sheet membranes tested under the com-
parative conditions, that was presumed to be ascribed to the slight
thickness and open-surface pore framework of the polyvinylidene
fluoride NFM with the assistance of ES. The superhydrophobic char-
acteristic of the surface of the membrane caused by the integral mod-
ification on entire nanofibers provides the membrane superior anti-
wetting characteristics although maintaining great water flux.
It is a major challenge to develop a perfect as well as super-
hydrophobic skin layer by polymer on an exceptionally porous nano-
fiber support layer with no cooperation of some effectively intercepted
nanomaterials due to the simple penetration of the coating solution
[260]. In the work by Deng Li. et al. [271], an exceptional double layer
composite membrane comprising of a superhydrophobic selective skin
from amorphous polypropylene (aPP) and an electrospun PVDF nano-
fiber support was fabricated by means of a facile vacuum filtration
technique. Benefiting from the superior tackiness as well as less surface
free energy of amorphous polypropylene, the robust double layer
amorphous polypropylene/PVDF membranes not only can show ex-
ceptional improvement in hydrophobicity together with liquid entry
pressure of water (LEPw), however, it can also tune the pore size with
no serious compromise in the porosity. The superhydrophobic amor-
phous polypropylene porous skin functioned as extra hindrance to
surface wetting and combined the interconnected nanofiber support to
contribute direct pathways to vapor transportation, prompting superior
DCMD performance. Substantially, the ideal superhydrophobic amor-
phous polypropylene/PVDF membrane displayed an ultrahigh
permeate vapor flux of about 53.1 LMH and a stable permeate con-
ductivity for 40 °C transmembrane temperature (salt feed 3.5 wt%
NaCl) > 50 h operation. It was found that the aforestated direct contact
membrane distillation performance was greater than twice that of
conventional commercially used poly(vinylidene fluoride) membrane
and much better than those of modified ENFMs reported up until now,
demonstrating extraordinary applicability for MD desalination.
5.5.1.2. Fluoropolymer nanofibers for DCMD utilization. In the past few
years, researchers have recommended different types of electrospun
membranes utilizing hydrocarbon polymers as well as fluoropolymers.
The fluoropolymer is a potential candidate for membrane distillation
utilization because of its intrinsic hydrophobicity. In spite of the fact
that PTFE demonstrated better hydrophobicity out of different
fluoropolymers, studies on polytetrafluoroethylene ENFMs have not
been performed due to its complicated process ability. The fluorine
atoms are non-polar in nature and possess a lower interaction energy
with molecules of water and a lower packing density. Park, S. H et al.
[272] fabricated fluorine-containing thermally-rearranged ENFMs (F-
TR-ENFMs) for membrane distillation utilization for the first time.
These F-TR-ENFMs demonstrated upgraded hydrophobic properties, for
example, high water contact angle (143°), increased effective
evaporation area (EEA), and high LEP with water (LEPw) (1.3 bar)
because of the inclusion of fluorine atoms thermally rearranged
membrane backbone. The fabricated F-TR-ENFMs displayed
extraordinary membrane distillation performance (water flux
−114.8 kg m−2 h−1, and salt rejection > 99.99% at permeate and
feed temperatures of 20 °C and 80 °C, respectively) and superior
energy efficiency (52.1% at permeate and feed temperatures of 20 °C
29
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
and 50 °C, respectively). The longer stability of F-TR-ENFM is also
found to be > 250 h of operating time.
5.5.1.3. Polysulfone nanofibers for DCMD utilization. Polysulfone is an
interesting membrane material utilized in various filtration processes
because of its good mechanical properties, remarkable thermal
stability, and superior chemical resistance. Despite that, because to its
greater tendency to biofouling, different surface modification
techniques have been established for improving its hydrophilicity
[273].
In the research work by Li, X et al. [256], unique self-cleaning
polysulfone-polydimethylsiloxane-x-y ENFMs with modest direct con-
tact membrane distillation performance have been fabricated by ES
process of polysulfone nanofibers with subsequent poly-
dimethylsiloxane modification along with cold-press post-treatment.
Because of its simplicity, this ENFM fabrication technique could be
effectively scaled up. The results demonstrated that poly-
dimethylsiloxane adhesion or/and accumulation was developed on the
surface of ENFM with the increment in the concentration of poly-
dimethylsiloxane, initiating the super hydrophobicity and self-cleaning
property because of the surface hierarchical roughness and low surface
energy of polydimethylsiloxane. The cold-press pre-treatment pressure
showed a significant influence on the membrane surface morphology as
well as structural features. With the enhancement in the cold-press post-
treatment pressure, the liquid entry pressure of water of the poly-
sulfone-polydimethylsiloxane-x-y ENFMs was upgraded remarkably,
whereas the void volume fraction as well as the size of the inter-fiber
spacing were diminished, however, at the same time larger than those
of the polysulfone-y ENFMs because of the physical flexibility of the
polydimethylsiloxane under pressure. During the direct contact mem-
brane distillation tests, the polysulfone-y ENFMs experienced wetting
because of its inadequate hydrophobicity and lower values of liquid
entry pressure of water. It was noted that the cold-press post-treatment
for polysulfone-polydimethylsiloxane ENFMs is a vital procedure to
fabricate good as well as high performance membranes layers. The
polysulfone-polydimethylsiloxane-x-y ENFMs with y ≥ 4 and x ≥ 1
were observed to be promising in membrane distillation application
due to their steady direct contact membrane distillation performance
(that is, extremely low electrical conductivity of the permeation in the
course of 12 h DCMD process). This study exhibited the practicality of
designing and fabricating self-cleaning polysulfone-poly-
dimethylsiloxane ENFMs for membrane distillation applications. In
order to further upgrade the liquid entry pressure of water of the
polysulfone-polydimethylsiloxane-x-y ENFMs, in future research work
we suggest the utilization of various solvents to improve the compact-
ness of polysulfone ENFMs and include inorganic hydrophobic nano-
particles into the polydimethylsiloxane layer to enhance the surface
roughness as well as hydrophobicity, and lessen the inter-fiber spacing
of these ENFMs.
Very limited research studies have been performed on the in-situ
surface modification of electrospun nanofibers. In the research work
carried out by Khayet, M. et al. [274], bead-free and superhydrophobic
electrospun nanofibers were effectively fabricated utilizing a blend of
polysulfone, a host hydrophilic polymer, and a limited quantity of an
oligomeric fluorinated polyurethane additive (FPUA), for example, at
least 3 wt% FPUA in the polysulfone blend. We have also noted that
only limited researches have been concentrated on the utilization of
lower amounts of fluorinated active additives in the dope solution (that
is, under 10 wt%) for the fabrication of electrospun superhydrophobic
and electrospun nanofibers [275]. In the process of ES, an impulsive
FPUA segregation to the surface of nanofiber was identified through X-
ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) at various take-off angles. The
increment in the FPUA amount the polysulfone blend generated nano-
fibers with greater diameters and more wide diameter distributions
because of the remarkable improvement in the viscosity of the ES dope,
despite the fact that its electrical conductivity was enhanced and the
H. Saleem, et al.
surface tension was diminished. The FPUA blended polysulfone ENFMs
fabricated with FPUA amounts up till 4.5 wt% (PSf-4.5, PSf-3 and PSf-
1.5) demonstrated to be satisfactory for desalination by DCMD tech-
nique with stable as well as competitive permeate fluxes. For instance,
by the ENFM fabricated with 4.5 wt% FPUA in the polysulfone blend
(PSf-4.5), at a permeate temperature of 20 °C and a feed temperature of
80 °C a permeate flux of almost 53.8 kg/m2 h was accomplished, when
30 g/L NaCl feed aqueous solution was treated by DCMD. The electrical
conductivities of the permeate were less (< 5.1 μS/cm) with re-
markably higher rejection factors (> 99.99%). In the course of direct
contact membrane distillation desalination for these ENFMs, no inter-
fiber space wetting was identified.
5.5.2. Vacuum membrane distillation (VMD)
In the subsequent part, some discussions on the utilization of na-
nofiber membranes on vacuum membrane distillation system have been
provided. The application of polymers such as PVDF, PTFE and nano-
particles like CNTs has been analyzed.
5.5.2.1. Polyvinylidine fluoride nanofibers for VMD utilization. The
polymer PVDF is noted to have good chemical resistance,
hydrophobicity and thermal stability. The functional inorganic
nanoparticles possessing infrared (IR) effect (i.e., SiO2, AZO, ATO,
TiO2, Al2O3, etc.) have been generally utilized in heat insulating glass.
The most commonly utilized aforestated type of inorganic nanoparticle
is antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO), which is the blend of Sb2O3 and
SnO2 with a specific mass ratio. Presently, there are numerous reports
on the temperature polarization phenomenon in the membrane
distillation process, however there are not many researches done on
the best way to tackle it. Huang, Q. et al. [276] proposed a unique
technique for upgrading the membrane distillation performance by the
temperature polarization suppression. In this research work, the team
manufactured poly(vinylidene fluoride)/antimony-doped tin oxide
hybrid nanofiber membranes which had better infrared-stimulated
thermal effects. It was shown that photothermal heating produced by
poly(vinylidene fluoride)/antimony-doped tin oxide hybrid nanofiber
membranes significantly increased the surface temperature of the
membrane. In comparison with the poly(vinylidene fluoride)
nanofiber membrane without antimony-doped tin oxide loading, the
Fig. 13. NaCl rejection of 10 h continuous vacuum membrane distillation application.
After courtesy of [282].
30
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
thermal radiation energy of antimony-doped tin oxide increased the
temperature of hybrid membrane by almost 13 °C, that diminished the
effect of temperature polarization clearly. It was found that the infrared
radiation advanced the permeate flux of the entire poly(vinylidene
fluoride)/antimony-doped tin oxide membranes.
CNTs are found to be the perfect hydrophobic material and these
nanoparticles are generally utilized to manufacture membranes. For
example, the immobilization of the nanoparticle carbon nanotubes in
polymer membrane matrices could enhance the wetting resistance of
MD [277]. The ENFMs mixed with carbon nanotubes demonstrated
increased water contact angle relative to commercially used PVDF
membrane [278]. On the other hand, during the fabrication process of
CNT-nanocomposite ENFMs, there exist a problem of agglomeration of
the nanoparticles, due to the fact that the carbon nanotubes were very
difficult to totally distribute in an aqueous environment, or reaggregate
in electrospun polymer solution because of comparatively longer
manufacturing time. In an investigation carried out by Yan, K. K et al.
[279], the group introduced a simple surface coating method for the
manufacture of superhydrophobic ENFMs by means of a spraying
technique. In this strategy, the lesser content of carbon nanotubes dis-
persion with an appropriate solvent performs a significant job to restrict
the CNT agglomeration. Since PVDF based ENFMs can be totally wetted
by ethanol, isolate drop cannot develop on the surface of the mem-
brane, in this way the CNT agglomeration was restrained during the
entire ethanol quickly evaporated procedure. The network of CNTs
remarkably upgraded the liquid entry pressure and hydrophobicity of
membranes. The VMD results showed that the membranes coated with
CNTs showed best performance both in water flux as well as anti-wet-
ting in the desalination process. The CNTs coated membranes' proper-
ties showed no significant variation subsequent to vacuum membrane
distillation tests. The aforestated method to manufacture super-
hydrophobic membranes has the great potential in several industrial
utilizations. We found that the vacuum membrane distillation perfor-
mance of this CNT coated ENFMs were significantly better than several
other nanofiber membranes in other different studies [278,280,281].
5.5.2.2. Polytetrafluoroethylene nanofibers for VMD utilization. PTFE
nanofiber membranes utilized for VMD was prepared by Zhou T.
et al. [282] by sintering polytetrafluoroethylene/polyvinyl alcohol
 H. Saleem, et al.

Table 3
Summary of recently published papers on the membrane and separation properties of nanofiber membranes for MF, UF, NF FO and MD in desalination and water treatment applications.
Sl. no. Membrane Method Membrane properties Separating property Process Ref.

Pore size (μm) Porosity (%) Flux (kg/m2 h) Solute rejection (percent) Stable time
(hours)

1 CNTs coated superhydrophobic ENFMs/Spraying Electrospinning/CNT spraying 0.19 70.2 28.4 Salt - > 99.9 26 Vacuum membrane [279]
method distillation
2 Heat pressed dual-layer nanofiber nonwoven Electrospinning/heat press post 0.18 85.3 15.5 Salt - > 99% – Air gap membrane [269]
membranes treatment distillation
3 Fluorine containing thermally-rearranged ENFMs Electrospinning/thermal rearrangement 0.8 ± 2 81 ± 2 114.8 Salt - > 99.99% 250 Direct Contact Membrane [272]
Distillation
4 Amorphous polypropylene/PVDF composite Electrospinning/hot press heat treatment 0.46 79.7 135.3 Salt - > 99.99% 50 Direct Contact Membrane [271]

31
membrane Distillation
5 CF4 treated ominophobic polyvinylidene fluoride Electrospinning/CF4 plasma treatment 0.80 ± 0.02 86.4 ± 1.3 15.2 Salt -~100% Air gap membrane [258]
ENFMs (15 min treatment) distillation
6 Hydrolyzed PAN supported nanofiber-based FO Electrospinning/interfacial – 79.8 55.05 Salt-97% Forward Osmosis [241]
membranes Polymerization
7 Polyimide supported microporous nanofiber Electrospinning/interfacial 1.27 - 11.6 ± 2 Salt −49.8 ± 2% Forward Osmosis [242]
membrane polymerization
8 TFC FO membrane having electrospun polysulfone/ Electrospinning/phase inversion – 84.3 ± 3.6 3.68 ± 0.23 Salt −97.12 ± 0.92% Forward Osmosis [134]
PAN blend nanofibers as porous substrate method/interfacial polymerization
9 TFC NF membrane based on Polyethylene Electrospinning/reverse interfacial 0.0018 85 34 ± 2.3 Salt-78 ± 2% Nanofiltration [185]
terephthalate nanofiber support and PA topmost layer polymerization
10 Three-dual structure high flux NF membranes prepared Electrospinning/LbL assembly/phase – – 75 Salt-80% Nanofiltration [192]
with various SPEEK conc. inversion
11 Polysulfone ENFM Electrospinning/heat post-treatment 3.06 – 232 Humic acid-63.9 Microfiltration [160]
12 Polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/Polyacrylonitrile Electrospinning/solution treatment – – 270.1 Salt-99.5 Ultrafiltration [179]
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
H. Saleem, et al.
electrospun nanofiber membranes. Subsequent to the sintering process
at temperature 380 °C for almost 30 min, exclusive moniliform fiber
network with a porosity of almost 80%, water contact angle > 150°,
and applicable strength was developed. In addition to this, by
enhancing the thickness of membrane, high LEP value membranes
presented in vacuum membrane distillation configuration was attained.
A membrane possessing a thickness of 156 μm and a LEP value of about
165 kPa was utilized in vacuum membrane distillation process. Salt
rejection and pure water permeability were examined. The pure water
flux attained a high value of about 15.8 kg/m2 h when feed temperature
is 80 °C and the trans-membrane pressure is 30 kPa, and the membrane
demonstrated a steady rejection of salt > 98.5% for 10 h operation
when the feed salt concentration is almost 3.5%. The results in Fig. 13
illustrated the long-standing stability of the polytetrafluoroethylene
ENFMs in vacuum membrane distillation utilization, which also shows
its possibility as well as prospect in commercial application of this
membrane.
5.5.3. Air gap membrane distillation (AGMD)
AGMD has been reported to possess significant potential for com-
mercial sustainability since it possesses the greatest thermal efficiency.
The existence of an air gap gives contributes better heat transfer re-
sistance because of lesser thermal conductivity of air relative to the
membrane material, that lessens the heat losses, and gives increased
heat energy to be utilized for water evaporation in comparison to direct
contact membrane distillation. With regard to temperature polariza-
tion, the air gap membrane distillation is superior to DCMD process
because of increased hear transfer resistance, that results in lengthier
operation time with stable flux along with salt rejection performances.
Despite that, the flux in air gap membrane distillation is usually less
than those in VMD or DCMD due to the enhanced mass transfer re-
sistance because of the existence of stagnant air, which is a major issue
constraining the utilization of air gap membrane distillation. In the
coming section, some discussions on the utilization of nanofiber
membranes on air gap membrane distillation system have been pro-
vided.
5.5.3.1. Polyvinylidine fluoride nanofibers for AGMD
utilization. Providing omniphobicity to the ENFM is an interesting
technique to take advantage of its increasingly porous as well as
multi-layered structure with moderately rougher surface. Out of the
several surface modification techniques, the plasma treatment is
considered to be an extendable way to provide resistant coatings on
the surface of the membrane. Specifically, tetrafluoromethane (CF4)
plasma treatment permits etching, replacement or polymer
modification of the membrane, improving its anti-wetting properties.
Shon et al. [258] stated a technique of surface modification by
tetrafluoromethane plasma on ominophobic polyvinylidene fluoride
ENFMs for the utilization in the air gap membrane distillation. In the
aforestated work, PVDF membranes were effectively manufactured by
ES technique and subsequently modified by tetrafluoromethane plasma
treatment. The manufactured and modified ENFMs were assessed via
AGMD process utilizing the actual RO brine from coal seam gas (CSG)
produced water as the feed. The results recommend the effective
chemical modification of the membrane by tetrafluoromethane
plasma treatment without remarkably modifying the morphology as
well as its physical properties, thereby contributing enhanced
fluorination particularly through the development of CF2-CF2 and CF3
bonds, with the treatment duration. The aforestated prompted the
advancement in the wetting properties of the modified membrane, due
to the fact that the plasma treatment reduced its surface energy and
provided omniphobic property to the membrane. The optimal
treatment duration was noted to be 15 min, getting the maximum
hydrophobicity as well as superior wetting resistance to low surface
tension liquids, for example, ethylene glycol, mineral oil, and ethanol,
and subsequently high LEP of about 187 kPa. The aforestated upgraded
32
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
properties translate to superior salt rejection (~100%) and flux
(15.2 LMH) performances of P/CF-15 (15 min treatment time) even
with the inclusion of up till 0.7 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate in the actual
reverse osmosis brine feed in the course of air gap membrane
distillation process. The results imply the great capability of the
tetrafluoromethane plasma modified nanofiber membrane in the
treatment of challenging feed solutions which might consist of
organic contaminants, for example, wastewater from coal seam gas
(CSG) exploration.
5.5.3.2. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluropropylene) (PVDF-HFP)
nanofibers for AGMD utilization. In the recent past, the ES process has
been advanced to manufacture polyvinylidenefluoride-co-
hexafluoropropylene nanofibers and fiber films for utilization in air
gap membrane distillation. It must be noted that the morphology as
well as measure of ENFMs are very much controllable relative to the
phase-inversion hollow fiber membranes, which is obtained by
changing the solution properties, for example, conductivity, surface
tension, concentration and processing conditions like tip-to-collector
distance, flow rate, and voltage. In the work by Hemmat A et al. [283],
the impacts of three salt additives inclusive of calcium chloride (CaCl2),
lithium chloride (LiCl) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3), on the
permeation efficiency and morphology of polyvinylidenefluoride-co-
hexafluoropropylene membranes were analyzed. It was discovered that
the incorporation of slight quantity of salt additive shifts the
morphology of fibers from beaded fiber to a homogenous fiber
framework. From the scanning electron microscopy images, it was
noted that the contact angle of polyvinylidenefluoride-co-
hexafluoropropylene membrane declined with the incorporation of
salt and accordingly membrane M1 (20 wt% PVDF with no salt
additive) has the greatest contact angle, 136.0, relative to other
membranes. Additionally, it was seen that the greatest porosity of
about 89% was obtained for the M2 membrane (20 wt% PVDF with
0.02 wt% LiCl as the additive). It was confirmed from this study that the
polyvinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene ENFM can be utilized
in air gap membrane distillation process to generate pure water from
3.5 wt% salt feed aqueous solution, where the water flux was noted to
be 13.6 L/m2 h for the M2 membranes with LiCl as the additive salt.
It was noted already that the dual layered ENFMs comprising of two
polymers of diverse hydrophobicities demonstrated superior direct
contact membrane distillation desalination performance relative to the
single layer ENFMs manufactured under identical electrospinning time
[270]. Similarly, for desalination by AGMD, Woo, Y. C. et al. [269]
prepared dual-layer nanofiber nonwoven membranes by a simple ES
method. Clean single and double layer ENFMs made out of a hydro-
phobic polyvinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) top
layer with distinct supporting hydrophilic layer composed of either
polyacrylonitrile (PAN), nylon-6 (N6), or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) na-
nofibers were manufactured without and with heat press post-treat-
ment. The surface characterization demonstrated that the active layer
(i.e., PVDF-HFP) of all ENFMs displayed a rough, hydrophobic and
profoundly porous surface, whereas the other side was hydrophilic with
changing porosity. The heat-press post treatment of the membrane
brought about smaller pore size and thinner thickness. In a co-current
flow set-up, the air gap membrane distillation tests were performed
with consistent inlet temperatures at the permeate and feed streams of
20 ± 1.5 °C and 60 ± 1.5 °C, respectively. The air gap membrane
distillation module had a membrane area of about 21 cm2 and the
airgap thickness was almost 3 mm. The clean single and double layered
ENFMs illustrated a water permeate flux of almost 10.9–15.5 LMH
utilizing 3.5 wt% salt solution as feed, which was a lot higher relative to
commercially used PVDF membrane (approximately 5 LMH). The ar-
rangement of a hydrophilic layer at the lower layer improved the air
gap membrane distillation performance relying upon the wettability as
well as the characteristics of the support layer. The PVDF-HFP/N6
double layer ENFM manufactured under the optimum condition

Table 4
Benefits and challenges of the different nanofiber membranes for various technologies in water treatment and desalination utilization.
Sl. no. Membrane
1 Amorphous polypropylene/PVDF composite
membrane
2 CNTs coated superhydrophobic ENFMs/Spraying
method
3 CF4 treated ominophobic polyvinylidene fluoride
ENFMs (15 min treatment)
4 Hydrolyzed PAN supported nanofiber-based FO
membranes
33
5 Polyimide supported microporous nanofiber
membrane
6 TFC NF membrane based on polyethylene
terephthalate nanofiber support and PA topmost
layer
7 Three-dual structure high flux NF membranes
prepared with various SPEEK conc.
8 Two-layered PU/PET nanofibrous mat
9 Polyvinylalcohol-MWCNT/Polyacrylonitrile
H. Saleem, et al.
Benefits Challenges Process Ref.
Membrane fabricated by taking entire benefit of the synergistic effect of the Some susceptible flaws were noticed on the surface of skin layer, that caused DCMD [271]
superhydrophobic amorphous polypropylene skin layer as well as nanofibrous larger maximum pore size and smaller LEP with water. Therefore partial
support layer. This type of 3-D network tuned the size of pore without severe pore wetting will occur when the water meniscus is damaged at the
compromise in the porosity and also improved the hydrophobicity and LEPw, membrane defect openings in the course of long time DCMD process
that efficiently eliminated salt intrusion and allowed vapor permeation with an
ultrahigh flux.
This method resolves the problems of bead development and embedding of The inclusion of nanoparticles in the membrane matrix generally requires a VMD [279]
nanoparticles in nanofibers. The increased efficiency in MD performance is due membrane post-treatment that in turn enhances the membrane preparation
to the thin layer of CNTs network on the surface of membrane cost
The test results suggest the increased possibility of this ENFM in the treatment of Optimization of the processing parameters to attain required nanofiber AGMD [258]
challenging feed solutions which might contain organic contaminants like properties and morphology is hard.
wastewater from CSG exploration.
The test results demonstrated a synergistic impact of multiple elements inclusive Process depends on several variables. FO [241]
of hydrophilicity, crystallinity, internal structure, roughness, and surface
morphology on separation as well as permeability performance and ICP
behavior, which was presented by chitosan sub-layer between active layer and
hydrolyzed nanofiber mat.
This TFC forward osmosis polyimide membranes can help to reduce ICP and Solvent emission (ethanol) into air and increased expense of solvent FO [242]
avoid the loss of draw solutes. Thus, these membranes display exceptional recycling
performance in forward osmosis process. The attained test results could be
credited to the effect of the inclusion of ethanol into aqueous phase on the
surface morphology, hydrophilicity as well as polyamide layer structure
The enhanced flux in this membranes is because of the huge open pore The nanofibrous structures prepared using two-axial technique have limited NF [185]
configuration, the lower hydraulic resistance of the nanofibrous support as well assembling configurations as well as functionalities
as nanocomposite format of thin layer increasing the water transportation
capability.
With less SPEEK content, the impact of increased surface hydrophilicity Fabrication process is cumbersome. Material waste during LbL assembly NF [192]
overpowers the decreased porosity, resulting in the enhanced water flux process
The interconnected pore structure and outstanding porosity of the PU/PA In needle-less ES set-up, fiber morphology as well as quality are not MF [131]
nanofiber membranes lead to two or three times greater flux relative to the accurately controlled, the raw materials which could be used are restricted,
commercially used membranes in desired pressures extent. which in turn limits flexible fiber fabrication and the process parameters as
well as flow rate cannot be controlled.
The generated nano-scaled cavities between MWCNTs and polyvinylalcohol Solvent emission (acetone) into air and high cost of solvent recycling. UF [179]
chains acting as the advanced water channels can contribute increased free Process depends on several variables.
volume in the topmost barrier layer, leading to an increase in the water
transportation capability of the barrier layer when oxidized MWCNTs were
included into the cross-linked polyvinylalcohol barrier layer
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
H. Saleem, et al.
displayed salt rejection and flux of 99.2% and 15.5 LMH, respectively.
From the observation of the results, we can see that these dual layered
ENFMs comprising of two polymers of diverse hydrophobicities can be
potentially utilized for desalination by air gap membrane distillation
with stable flux as well as rejection of salt in the feed temperature from
50 to 60 °C.
Table 3 is the summary of recently published papers on the mem-
brane and separation properties of nanofiber membranes for MF, UF,
NF FO and MD in desalination and water treatment applications. In
addition to this table, we have also included Table 4 to highlight the
benefits and challenges of the different nanofiber membranes for var-
ious technologies in water treatment and desalination utilization. The
main challenges relating to the fabrication processes are addressed in
the table such as cost issues, solvent emission and recycling issues,
limited assembly configurations etc. Also, the benefit of each technique
utilized for improving the performance are discussed. The entire re-
search papers discussed in this work illustrated that each kind of the
nanofiber membrane fabrication technique improve one or more fea-
tures of the membrane and might demonstrate an adverse impact on
some different features of the membrane or have no impact by any
means.
Thus, in Section 5, the potential application of ENFMs in desalina-
tion and water treatment utilization such as MF, UF, NF, FO and MD
have been discussed. The versatile ES technique could be utilized to
manufacture high-performance ENFMs with a homogenous pore dis-
tribution, increased pore interconnectivity, a high surface area-to-pore
volume ratio, and a higher surface area. The consolidation of ES process
and flexible surface treatments (for example, LbL, coating etc.) make it
specifically appropriate to manufacture water treatments membranes
for application in MD, FO, UF, NF and MF. It is clear that the choice of
appropriate materials and suitable incorporation routes for introducing
the required functionality, after or during electrospinning, are im-
portant to develop the right nanofiber membrane system for meeting
the specific needs. For NF and UF applications, the NFMs are generally
utilized as a supporting layer to the dynamic thin-film layer prepared by
different strategies Further, it was also noted that the addition of a
nanofiber layer to a UF membrane is a right method to functionalize a
membrane without unfavorably influencing the properties of the base
membrane. Also, dual layered ENFMs comprising of two polymers of
diverse hydrophobicities can be potentially utilized for desalination by
membrane distillation with stable flux as well as rejection of salt. The
ENFMs display excellent porosity by means of its interconnected pore
framework and this characteristic enables it an appropriate candidate
for the membrane substrate for FO utilization. (i.e., as a top layer). Till
now, ENFMs, as top active selective/barrier layers, have only been ef-
ficiency utilized in ultrafiltration-separation applications, that suggest
future ENFM-growth opportunities in MD operating environments.
Unfortunately, advancement of the ES strategy to a commercial scale
still continues to be a challenge. Hence, increased consideration has
been given to the greater durability as well as stability of the ENFMs to
eliminate this issue.
6. Future scope
As the latest generation of filtration media, the electrospun nano-
fiber membranes show enormously advantageous features that should
prompt the progression of forthcoming commercial filtration systems.
Academic investigations, as well as research, on 1-D nanofibers are
advancing at an extraordinarily quick pace. Unique preparation
methods and utilization of nanofibers are being stated in the publica-
tions at an enhancing rate and there is no indication of deceleration.
Significant improvement has been illustrated in the usage of nanofibers
for desalination as well as ecological remediation.
For improving the topographical and morphological features of
ENFMs, various techniques, inclusive of in-situ polymerization, mole-
cular bonding and the insertion of molecular dopants can be
34
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
consolidated with ES technique. Nanofibers along with their network
structures are commonly delivered with superior porosity, which are
beneficial for isolating particulates for purification of water. In order to
satisfy the ascending needs, there must be a considerable advancement
in the efficiency of nanofibers as a potential candidate for the treatment
of water as well as ecological remediation. For accomplishing this, the
manufacture as well as uses of nanofibers with adjustable physico-
chemical characteristics in addition to properties are totally required.
Despite that, a few challenges should be considered and overpowered to
pass beyond the present state of nanofiber preparation and utilization
towards accomplishment in industrial and commercial settings. The
aforestated difficulties are insignificant, however, they are not over-
whelming.
Primarily, it is essential to develop unique nanofiber preparation
techniques equipped for integrating the superior features of all present
and developing methods to manufacture excellent quality nanofibers
with an enormous industrial scale production capability. However, the
majority of the nanofiber-based composite structures and nanofibers
are manufactured on the basis of the conventional ES strategy. On the
other hand, as stated in this review paper, ES process has a few dis-
advantages, for example, high voltage, low throughput, a necessity for
specific equipment, conducting targets, as well as trouble in accom-
plishing in situ nanofiber deposition. Simultaneously, the electrospun
nanofiber networks normally have less mechanical strength because of
its reduced crystallinity along with irregular alignment as well as the
orientation of nanofibers. Therefore, it is important to improve the
present ES technique. To enhance the throughput of the nanofiber
preparation, advanced modifications of the typical ES, for example,
needleless and multi-needle ES, might be additionally developed. For
presenting the required functionalities as well as complexities into na-
nofibers and to improve their physical characteristics for additional
elaborate and explicit applications, choice of appropriate materials
combined with novel methodologies in controlling nanofiber structures,
inclusive of the smaller dimension of fiber, inter-fiber adherence, and
fiber surface functionalization, are important. State-of-the-art nanofiber
configurations like multicomponent, multilayer, and core-shell nanofi-
bers might be manufactured through strategies like co-axial ES process.
Consolidating nanofiber preparation with different methods, for ex-
ample, plasma treatment, control of fiber arrangement, heat treatment,
and chemical grafting is captivating to additionally enhance the phy-
sicochemical characteristics of nanofibers. Ultimately, integrated na-
nofiber preparation techniques that can contribute the best properties,
for example, in situ nanofiber deposition of SBS, excellent throughput
of CJS, improved nanofiber frameworks of co-axial ES, and so forth., are
exceedingly acceptable and ought to be the supreme objective in the
quest for nanofiber manufacture methods.
Regulating the pore size of nanofiber systems is an important pro-
cedure for improving the nanofiber filtration efficiency. Further, com-
bination with different nanostructures might be important to contribute
nanofibers with extra functionalities. In general, a reassuring perspec-
tive is absolutely awaiting the utilization of nanofibers for the treat-
ment of water as different manufacture procedures are developed fur-
ther to prepare nanofibers and analogous devices with incredible
filtration efficiency.
Thus, the future outlook of using ENFMs, specifically with those
capable of dealing with desalination and water treatment application, is
tremendously bright. On the other hand, the quality requirement for
water treatment membrane is also greater. The aforestated suggests that
the accurate control of membrane homogeneity, support layer thick-
ness, barrier layer thickness, and pore size distribution should be ac-
complished by ES in industrial scale. Without question, the ENFMs have
already become an exceptionally promising platform for several se-
paration as well as purification applications.
H. Saleem, et al.
7. Conclusion
The utilization of nanotechnology for seawater desalination and
water treatment is winning immense momentum throughout the world.
The unique features of nanomaterials, as well as their consolidation
with current technologies, present a great future towards re-
volutionizing desalination and water/wastewater treatment.
In this review, the current status as well as the forthcoming ad-
vancement in nanofiber technology are discussed, with special atten-
tion on its synthesis along with its application in seawater desalination
and water treatment. We discussed here the conventional techniques in
the nanofiber synthesis, like electrospinning, melt blowing, fibrillated
bicomponent fiber extrusion, phase separation, drawing, template
synthesis, and self-assembly, along with its benefits and limitations.
Also, we presented the developing nanofiber preparation techniques,
such as centrifugal spinning, plasma-induced synthesis, and solution
blow spinning. The membrane-based techniques utilize membrane sci-
ence and nanotechnology, and are more appropriate for desalination
and water treatment processes. The aforestated membrane-based
techniques include MD, FO, RO, NF, MF, and UF. Nanofiber membranes
for desalination or water-treatment utilization is a relatively modern
approach which has developed promptly in interest as a strategy to
enhance efficiency by upgrading the membrane surface properties. ES,
the most regularly used technique to manufacture nanofibers, has been
examined by numerous researchers, and its primary set-up was mod-
ified throughout the years to enhance its efficiency as well as over-
power its drawbacks. The different methods for surface modification,
like treatment with heat or chemicals, nanoparticle coating, grafting,
and interfacial polymerization, are noted to be extremely effective in
upgrading the filtration efficiency of ENFMs. The ENFMs are used in
seawater desalination as well as water treatment as it is an economical,
and energy-saving than conventional membranes. By the proper de-
signing of the module, ENFMs can be utilized instead of the three-stage
pretreatment process (coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation).
There is an additional possibility of utilizing these membranes as pre-
filters preceding NF or UF to limit the chances of fouling as well as
contamination from micro-particles or micro-organisms and further-
more to isolate cells. Considering the superior filtration rate as well as
rejection efficiency, the ENFMs with a thickness of > 20 mm ought to
be a decent candidate for the application in water purification. From
the examination of different research works in this study, we can con-
firm that the ENFMs are potential candidates for the utilization in
processes like MF, NF, UF, FO and MD (DCMD, VMD, and AGMD). For
majority cases, the polymer polyvinylidene fluoride is favored because
of its spinnability as well as its solubility. The ENFMs can be designed in
accordance with the desired structure, morphology, and functionalities
by controlling a few operational, material, environmental and post-
handling parameters. It can be noted that the membrane thickness, fiber
adhesion, and fiber diameter have a remarkable influence on water
flux, potential membrane retention, and bacterial separation. Also, the
ENFMs are promising candidates as advanced microfiltration media
with superior performance like excellent rejection fraction, high flux
value, reduced fouling degree, and lesser operating pressure.
For satisfying the ascending need for pure water, there must be a
considerable advancement in the efficiency of nanofibers as a potential
candidate for the treatment of water as well as ecological remediation.
In order to accomplish this, the manufacture of nanofibers with ad-
justable physicochemical characteristics and properties are totally re-
quired. Despite that, a few challenges should be considered and over-
powered to pass beyond the present state of nanofiber preparation and
utilization towards accomplishment in industrial and commercial set-
tings. For industrial scaling-up, the NFM is still in the evolving stage,
yet a couple of medium to commercial scale manufacturing equipment
as of now exist. As the latest generation of filtration media, the elec-
trospun nanofiber membranes show enormously advantageous features
that should prompt the progression of forthcoming commercial
35
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
filtration systems. Conclusively, we trust that the nanofibers are at the
frontline of nanotechnology. It is anticipated that the nanofiber market
will have exponential growth in the immediate future. Despite that,
there is no denying that there are still difficulties that should be con-
sidered to completely understand the maximum capabilities of NFMs,
however, the present scientific developments are in the correct path in
accomplishing this objective.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors state that there is no conflict of interest for submitting
this manuscript.
Thanks.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of this research
to Qatar University's IRCC research program through grant number
IRCC-2019-004.
References
[1] Shirazi, Mohammad Mahdi A., Ali Kargari, and Mohammad Javad A. Shirazi.
"Direct contact membrane distillation for seawater desalination." Desalination and
Water Treatment 49, no. 1–3 (2012): 368–375.
[2] Jay R. Werber, Chinedum O. Osuji, Menachem Elimelech, Materials for next-
generation desalination and water purification membranes, Nature Reviews
Materials 1 (5) (2016) 16018.
[3] DESA, U, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Highlights,
Population Division. United Nations publication. Online, United Nations,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), 2014 available at https://
esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/wpp2017_keyfindings.pdf.
[4] M.M.A. Shirazi, A. Kargari, Application of membrane distillation process for
wastewater treatment: A review, J. Membr. Sci. Res. 1 (2015) 101–112.
[5] X. Qu, J.J. Alvarez, Q. Li, Applications of nanotechnology in water and wastewater
treatment, Water Res. 47 (2013) 3931–3946.
[6] J. Theron, J.A. Walker, T.E. Cloete, Nanotechnology and water treatment: appli-
cations and emerging opportunities, Critical Rev. Microbiol. 34 (2008) 43–69.
[7] C. Feng, K.C. Khulbe, T. Matsuura, R. Gopal, S. Kaur, S. Ramakrishna, M. Khayet,
J. Membr. Sci. 311 (2008) 1–6.
[8] M. Essalhi, M. Khayet, Self-sustained webs of polyvinylidene fluoride electrospun
nanofibers at different electrospinning times: 1. Desalination by direct contact
membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 433 (2013) 167–179.
[9] Sundarrajan Subramanian, Ramakrishna Seeram, New directions in nanofiltration
applications—are nanofibers the right materials as membranes in desalination?
Desalination 308 (2013) 198–208.
[10] Lee, Kah Peng, Tom C. Arnot, and Davide Mattia. "A review of reverse osmosis
membrane materials for desalination-development to date and future potential."
Journal of Membrane Science 370, no. 1–2 (2011): 1–22.
[11] M. Khayet, M.C. García-Payo, L. García-Fernández, J. Contreras-Martínez, Dual-
layered electrospun nanofibrous membranes for membrane distillation,
Desalination 426 (2018) 174–184.
[12] Lim, Chwee Teck. "Synthesis, optical properties, and chemical-biological sensing
applications of one-dimensional inorganic semiconductor nanowires." Progress in
materials science 58, no. 5 (2013): 705–748.
[13] Yong, Ken-Tye, and Siu Fung Yu. "AlN nanowires: synthesis, physical properties,
and nanoelectronics applications." Journal of Materials Science 47, no. 14 (2012):
5341–5360.
[14] Jitendra N. Tiwari, Rajanish N. Tiwari, Kwang S. Kim, Zero-dimensional, one-di-
mensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional nanostructured materials for
advanced electrochemical energy devices, Prog. Mater. Sci. 57 (4) (2012)
724–803.
[15] Huang, Zheng-Ming, Y-Z. Zhang, Masaya Kotaki, and Seeram Ramakrishna. "A
review on polymer nanofibers by electrospinning and their applications in nano-
composites." Composites science and technology 63, no. 15 (2003): 2223–2253.
[16] Bergshoef, Michel M., and G. Julius Vancso. "Transparent nanocomposites with
ultrathin, electrospun nylon 4, 6 fiber reinforcement." Advanced materials 11, no.
16 (1999): 1362–1365.
[17] C.Y. Xu, R. Inai, M. Kotaki, S. Ramakrishna, Aligned biodegradable nanofibrous
structure: a potential scaffold for blood vessel engineering, Biomaterials 25 (5)
(2004) 877–886.
[18] Bhattarai, Shanta Raj, Narayan Bhattarai, Ho Keun Yi, Pyong Han Hwang, Dong Il
Cha, and Hak Yong Kim. "Novel biodegradable electrospun membrane: scaffold for
tissue engineering." Biomaterials 25, no. 13 (2004): 2595–2602.
[19] Shreyas Shah, Perry T. Yin, Thiers M. Uehara, Sy Tsong, Dean Chueng, Letao Yang,
Ki Bum Lee, Guiding stem cell differentiation into oligodendrocytes using gra-
phene nanofiber hybrid scaffolds, Advanced materials 26 (22) (2014) 3673–3680.
[20] Adam M. Behrens, Brendan J. Casey, Michael J. Sikorski, Kyle L. Wu,
Wojtek Tutak, Anthony D. Sandler, Peter Kofinas, In situ deposition of PLGA
H. Saleem, et al.
nanofibers via solution blow spinning, ACS Macro Lett. 3 (3) (2014) 249–254.
[21] Hassanzadeh, Pegah, Mahshid Kharaziha, Mehdi Nikkhah, Su Ryon Shin, Jungho
Jin, Simeiqi He, Wei Sun et al. "Chitin nanofiber micropatterned flexible substrates
for tissue engineering." Journal of Materials Chemistry B 1, no. 34 (2013):
4217–4224.
[22] Liao, Yaozu, Xin-Gui Li, Eric MV Hoek, and Richard B. Kaner. "Carbon nanotube/
polyaniline nanofiber ultrafiltration membranes." Journal of Materials Chemistry
A 1, no. 48 (2013): 15390–15396.
[23] Huimin Shi, Ming Zhou, Dengfei Song, Xiaojun Pan, Fu Jiecai, Jinyuan Zhou,
Shuyi Ma, Tao Wang, Highly porous SnO2/TiO2 electrospun nanofibers with high
photocatalytic activities, Ceram. Int. 40 (7) (2014) 10383–10393.
[24] L. Cheng, S.Y. Ma, T.T. Wang, X.B. Li, J. Luo, W.Q. Li, Y.Z. Mao, D.J. Gz, Synthesis
and characterization of SnO2 hollow nanofibers by electrospinning for ethanol
sensing properties, Mater. Lett. 131 (2014) 23–26.
[25] Meng Shang, Wenzhong Wang, Songmei Sun, Erping Gao, Zhijie Zhang,
Ling Zhang, Ryan O'Hayre, The design and realization of a large-area flexible
nanofiber-based mat for pollutant degradation: an application in photocatalysis,
Nanoscale 5 (11) (2013) 5036–5042.
[26] Xiaoling Yang, Wenjian Zou, Su Yunhe, Yihua Zhu, Hongliang Jiang,
Jianhua Shen, Chunzhong Li, Activated nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers with
hierarchical pore as efficient oxygen reduction reaction catalyst for microbial fuel
cells, J. Power Sources 266 (2014) 36–42.
[27] Doyle, James J., Santosh Choudhari, Seeram Ramakrishna, and Ramesh P. Babu.
"Electrospun nanomaterials: biotechnology, food, water, environment, and energy.
" In Conference Papers in Science, vol. 2013. Hindawi, 2013.
[28] Audrey Frenot, Ioannis S. Chronakis, Polymer nanofibers assembled by electro-
spinning, Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 8 (1) (2003) 64–75.
[29] Rodriguez, M. Nelly, Myung-Soo Kim, R. Terry, K. Baker, Carbon nanofibers: a
unique catalyst support medium, J. Phys. Chem. 98 (50) (1994) 13108–13111.
[30] Ramakrishna, Seeram, Murugan Ramalingam, TS Sampath Kumar, and Winston O.
Soboyejo. Biomaterials: a nano approach. CRC press, 2016.
[31] Christopher J. Ellison, Alhad Phatak, David W. Giles, Christopher W. Macosko,
Frank S. Bates, Melt blown nanofibers: Fiber diameter distributions and onset of
fiber breakup, Polymer 48 (11) (2007) 3306–3316.
[32] Peter X. Ma, Ruiyun Zhang, Synthetic nanoscale fibrous extracellular matrix,
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: An Official Journal of The Society for
Biomaterials, The Japanese Society for Biomaterials, and The Australian Society
for Biomaterials 46 (1) (1999) 60–72.
[33] Ondarcuhu, T., and C. Joachim. "Drawing a single nanofibre over hundreds of
microns." EPL (Europhysics Letters) 42, no. 2 (1998): 215.
[34] Midori Ikegame, Keisuke Tajima, Takuzo Aida, Template synthesis of polypyrrole
nanofibers insulated within one dimensional silicate channels: hexagonal versus
lamellar for recombination of polarons into bipolarons, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 42
(19) (2003) 2154–2157.
[35] W.E. Teo, S. Ramakrishna, A review on electrospinning design and nanofibre as-
sembles, Nanotechnology 17 (2006) R89–R106.
[36] I. Sas, R.E. Gorga, J.A. Joines, K.A. Thoney, Literature review on super-
hydrophobic self-cleaning surfaces produced by electrospinning, J. Polymer Sci. B:
Polymer Phys. 50 (2012) 824–845.
[37] J.H. He, H.Y. Kong, R.R. Yang, H. Dou, N. Faraz, L. Wang, C. Feng, Review on fiber
morphology obtained by bubble electrospinning and blown bubble spinning,
Thermal Sci. 16 (2012) 1263–1279.
[38] C.L. Casper, J.S. Stephens, N.G. Tassi, D.B. Chase, J.F. Rabolt, Controlling surface
morphology of electrospun polystyrene finers: effect of humidity and molecular
weight in the electrospinning process, Macromolecules 37 (2004) 573–578.
[39] T. Uyar, F. Besenbacher, Electrospinning of uniform polysturene fibers: the effect
of solvent conductivity, Polymer 49 (2008) 5336–5343.
[40] M. Kang, R. Jung, H.S. Kim, H.J. Jin, Preparation of superhydrophobic polystyrene
membranes by electrospinning, Colloid Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects
313314 (2008) 411–414.
[41] T. Jarusuwannapoom, W. Hongrojjanawiwat, S. Jitjaicham, L. Wannatong,
M. Nithitanakul, C. Pattamaprom, P. Koombhongse, R. Rangkupan, P. Supaphol,
Effect of solvents on electro-spinnability of polystyrene solutions and morpholo-
gical appearance of resulting electrospun polystyrene fibers, European Polymer J.
41 (2005) 409–421.
[42] B. Guo, L. Glavas, A.C. Albertsson, Biodegradable and electrically conducting
polymers for biomedical applications, Prog. Polymer Sci. 38 (2013) 1263–1286.
[43] YongAn Huang, Yongqing Duan, Yajiang Ding, Bu Ningbin, Yanqiao Pan,
Nanshu Lu, Zhouping Yin, Versatile, kinetically controlled, high precision elec-
trohydrodynamic writing of micro/nanofibers, Sci. Rep. 4 (2014) 5949.
[44] Onses, M. Serdar, Chiho Song, Lance Williamson, Erick Sutanto, Placid M.
Ferreira, Andrew G. Alleyne, Paul F. Nealey, Heejoon Ahn, and John A. Rogers.
"Hierarchical patterns of three-dimensional block-copolymer films formed by
electrohydrodynamic jet printing and self-assembly." Nature nanotechnology 8,
no. 9 (2013): 667.
[45] Gajanan S. Bhat, Sanjiv R. Malkan, Extruded continuous filament nonwovens:
advances in scientific aspects, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 83 (3) (2002) 572–585.
[46] Rohit Uppal, Gajanan Bhat, Chris Eash, Kokouvi Akato, Meltblown nanofiber
media for enhanced quality factor, Fibers and Polymers 14 (4) (2013) 660–668.
[47] Van A. Wente, Superfine thermoplastic fibers, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry
48 (8) (1956) 1342–1346.
[48] Mohammad Abouelreesh Hassan, Bong Yeol Yeom, Arnold Wilkie,
Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Saad A. Khan, Fabrication of nanofiber meltblown mem-
branes and their filtration properties, J. Membr. Sci. 427 (2013) 336–344.
[49] Ruilai Liu, Ning Cai, Wenqing Yang, Weidu Chen, Haiqing Liu, Sea island poly-
urethane/polycarbonate composite nanofiber fabricated through electrospinning,
36
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 116 (3) (2010) 1313–1321.
[50] Chae, Han Gi, Young Ho Choi, Marilyn L. Minus, and Satish Kumar. "Carbon na-
notube reinforced small diameter polyacrylonitrile based carbon fiber."
Composites Science and Technology 69, no. 3–4 (2009): 406–413.
[51] Nataliya Fedorova, Investigation of the Utility of Islands-in-the-sea Bicomponent
Fiber Technology in the Spunbond Process [Dissertation], NC State University,
Raleigh, 2006.
[52] Mehmet Dasdemir, Benoit Maze, Nagendra Anantharamaiah,
Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Influence of polymer type, composition, and interface on
the structural and mechanical properties of core/sheath type bicomponent non-
woven fibers, J. Mater. Sci. 47 (16) (2012) 5955–5969.
[53] Kazuhiro Nakata, Kenji Fujii, Yutaka Ohkoshi, Yasuo Gotoh, Masanobu Nagura,
Miyuki Numata, Mie Kamiyama, Poly (ethylene terephthalate) nanofibers made by
sea-island-type conjugated melt spinning and laser-heated flow drawing,
Macromol. Rapid Commun. 28 (6) (2007) 792–795.
[54] Haifeng Yang, Yan Yan, Ying Liu, Fuqiang Zhang, Renyuan Zhang, Yan Yan,
Mei Li, Songhai Xie, Tu Bo, Dongyuan Zhao, A simple melt impregnation method
to synthesize ordered mesoporous carbon and carbon nanofiber bundles with
graphitized structure from pitches, J. Phys. Chem. B 108 (45) (2004)
17320–17328.
[55] Jiangtao Feng, Jingjing Li, Wei Lv, Hao Xu, Honghui Yang, Wei Yan, Synthesis of
polypyrrole nano-fibers with hierarchical structure and its adsorption property of
Acid Red G from aqueous solution, Synth. Met. 191 (2014) 66–73.
[56] Xue Li, Shengjun Tian, Yang Ping, Dong Ha Kim, Wolfgang Knoll, One-step route
to the fabrication of highly porous polyaniline nanofiber films by using PS-b-PVP
diblock copolymers as templates, Langmuir 21 (21) (2005) 9393–9397.
[57] Pankaj Kumar, Effect of Collector on Electrospinning to Fabricate Aligned Nano
Fiber, PhD diss. (2012).
[58] Tarun Garg, Goutam Rath, Amit K. Goyal, Biomaterials-based nanofiber scaffold:
targeted and controlled carrier for cell and drug delivery, J. Drug Target. 23 (3)
(2015) 202–221.
[59] Seeram Ramakrishna, An Introduction to Electrospinning and Nanofibers, World
Scientific, 2005.
[60] Xiangwu Zhang, Lu. Yao, Centrifugal spinning: an alternative approach to fabri-
cate nanofibers at high speed and low cost, Polym. Rev. 54 (4) (2014) 677–701.
[61] Yasuyuki Tsuboi, Yasuhiro Yoshida, Kensaku Okada, Noboru Kitamura, Phase
separation dynamics of aqueous solutions of thermoresponsive polymers studied
by a laser T-jump technique, J. Phys. Chem. B 112 (9) (2008) 2562–2565.
[62] Xiaobo Xing, Yuqing Wang, Baojun Li, Nanofiber drawing and nanodevice as-
sembly in poly (trimethylene terephthalate), Opt. Express 16 (14) (2008)
10815–10822.
[63] Akihiro Suzuki, Ken Tanizawa, Poly (ethylene terephthalate) nanofibers prepared
by CO2 laser supersonic drawing, Polymer 50 (3) (2009) 913–921.
[64] Akihiro Suzuki, Keiko Aoki, Biodegradable poly (l-lactic acid) nanofiber prepared
by a carbon dioxide laser supersonic drawing, Eur. Polym. J. 44 (8) (2008)
2499–2505.
[65] Akihiro Suzuki, Kyouhei Arino, Polypropylene nanofiber sheets prepared by CO2
laser supersonic multi-drawing, Eur. Polym. J. 48 (7) (2012) 1169–1176.
[66] Akihiro Suzuki, Yuuki Yamada, Poly (ethylene-2, 6-naphthalate) nanofiber pre-
pared by carbon dioxide laser supersonic drawing, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 116 (4)
(2010) 1913–1919.
[67] Kei Fukuhara, Takemune Yamada, Akihiro Suzuki, Characterization of fluor-
opolymer nanofiber sheets fabricated by CO2 laser drawing without solvents, Ind.
Eng. Chem. Res. 51 (30) (2012) 10117–10123.
[68] Akihiro Suzuki, Rio Shimizu, Biodegradable poly (glycolic acid) nanofiber pre-
pared by CO2 laser supersonic drawing, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 121 (5) (2011)
3078–3084.
[69] A. Suzuki, H. Hayashi, Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene nanofibers prepared by CO2
laser supersonic drawing, Express Polym Lett 7 (6) (2013).
[70] Akihiro Suzuki, Takumi Mikuni, Toshinori Hasegawa, Nylon 66 nanofibers pre-
pared by CO2 laser supersonic drawing, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 131 (6) (2014).
[71] Toshinori Hasegawa, Takumi Mikuni, Higher-order structural analysis of nylon-66
nanofibers prepared by carbon dioxide laser supersonic drawing and exhibiting
near-equilibrium melting temperature, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 131 (12) (2014).
[72] M.J.A. Shirazi, S. Bazgir, M.M.A. Shirazi, S. Ramakrishna, Coalescing filtration of
oily wastewaters: characteristics and application of thermal treated electrospun
polystyrene filters, Desal. Water Treat. 51 (2013) 5974–5986.
[73] Ibrahim Alghoraibi, Sandy Alomari, Different methods for nanofiber design and
fabrication, Handbook of Nanofibers (2018) 1–46.
[74] N.A. Gundogdu, Serhat, Yasin Akgul, and Ali Kilic. "optimization of centrifugally
spun thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers for air filtration applications.",
Aerosol Sci. Technol. 52 (5) (2018) 515–523.
[75] Xiulan Hu, Xin Zhang, Xiaodong Shen, Hongtao Li, Osamu Takai, Nagahiro Saito,
Plasma-induced synthesis of CuO nanofibers and ZnO nanoflowers in water,
Plasma Chem. Plasma Process. 34 (5) (2014) 1129–1139.
[76] Polat, Yusuf, Esra Serife Pampal, Elena Stojanovska, Ramazan Simsek, Ahmed
Hassanin, Ali Kilic, Ali Demir, and Safak Yilmaz. "Solution blowing of thermo-
plastic polyurethane nanofibers: A facile method to produce flexible porous ma-
terials." Journal of Applied Polymer Science 133, no. 9 (2016).
[77] Rajkishore Nayak, Rajiv Padhye, Illias Louis Kyratzis, Yen Bach Truong,
Lyndon Arnold, Recent advances in nanofibre fabrication techniques, Text. Res. J.
82 (2) (2012) 129–147.
[78] Chwee Teck Lim, Nanofiber technology: current status and emerging develop-
ments, Prog. Polym. Sci. 70 (2017) 1–17.
[79] Souza, Michelle A., Juliano E. Oliveira, Eliton S. Medeiros, Gregory M. Glenn, and
Luiz HC Mattoso. "Controlled release of linalool using nanofibrous membranes of
H. Saleem, et al.
poly (lactic acid) obtained by electrospinning and solution blow spinning: a
comparative study." Journal of nanoscience and nanotechnology 15, no. 8 (2015):
5628–5636.
[80] Liyun Ren, Rahmi Ozisik, Shiva P. Kotha, Rapid and efficient fabrication of mul-
tilevel structured silica micro-/nanofibers by centrifugal jet spinning, J. Colloid
Interface Sci. 425 (2014) 136–142.
[81] Kamal Sarkar, Carlos Gomez, Steve Zambrano, Michael Ramirez, Eugenio de
Hoyos, Horacio Vasquez, Karen Lozano, Electrospinning to forcespinning™, Mater.
Today 13 (11) (2010) 12–14.
[82] Bharath Raghavan, Haidy Soto, Karen Lozano, Fabrication of melt spun poly-
propylene nanofibers by forcespinning, Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics 8
(1) (2013) (155892501300800106).
[83] Simon Padron, Arturo Fuentes, Dumitru Caruntu, Karen Lozano, Experimental
study of nanofiber production through forcespinning, J. Appl. Phys. 113 (2)
(2013) 024318.
[84] Hooper, J. P. Centrifugal Spinneret, in US patent US 1500931 A, USA, 1924.
[85] Paula Mellado, Holly A. McIlwee, Mohammad R. Badrossamay, Josue A. Goss,
Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Kevin Kit Parker, A simple model for nanofiber
formation by rotary jet-spinning, Applied Physics Letters 99 (20) (2011) 203107.
[86] Liyun Ren, Rahmi Ozisik, Shiva P. Kotha, Patrick T. Underhill, Highly efficient
fabrication of polymer nanofiber assembly by centrifugal jet spinning: process and
characterization, Macromolecules 48 (8) (2015) 2593–2602.
[87] Liyun Ren, Vaibhav Pandit, Joshua Elkin, Tyler Denman, James A. Cooper, Shiva
P. Kotha, Large-scale and highly efficient synthesis of micro-and nano-fibers with
controlled fiber morphology by centrifugal jet spinning for tissue regeneration,
Nanoscale 5 (6) (2013) 2337–2345.
[88] Badrossamay, Mohammad Reza, Holly Alice McIlwee, Josue A. Goss, and Kevin Kit
Parker. "Nanofiber assembly by rotary jet-spinning." Nano letters 10, no. 6 (2010):
2257–2261.
[89] Rogalski, James J., Cees WM Bastiaansen, and Ton Peijs. "Rotary jet spinning re-
view-a potential high yield future for polymer nanofibers." Nanocomposites 3, no.
4 (2017): 97–121.
[90] Qihan Liu, Kevin Kit Parker, A viscoelastic beam theory of polymer jets with ap-
plication to rotary jet spinning, Extreme Mechanics Letters 25 (2018) 37–44.
[91] Mounica Jyothi Divvela, An-Cheng Ruo, Yevgen Zhmayev, Yong Lak Joo,
Discretized modeling for centrifugal spinning of viscoelastic liquids, J. Non-
Newtonian Fluid Mech. 247 (2017) 62–77.
[92] Tepekiran, Beyza Nur, Mehmet D. Calisir, Yusuf Polat, Yasin Akgul, and Ali Kilic.
"Centrifugally spun silica (SiO2) nanofibers for high-temperature air filtration."
Aerosol Science and Technology (2019): 1–12.
[93] Golecki, Holly McIlwee, Hongyan Yuan, Calla Glavin, Benjamin Potter,
Mohammad R. Badrossamay, Josue A. Goss, Michael D. Phillips, and Kevin Kit
Parker. "Effect of solvent evaporation on fiber morphology in rotary jet spinning."
Langmuir 30, no. 44 (2014): 13369–13374.
[94] Liyun Ren, Shiva P. Kotha, Centrifugal jet spinning for highly efficient and large-
scale fabrication of barium titanate nanofibers, Mater. Lett. 117 (2014) 153–157.
[95] Medeiros, Eliton S., Gregory M. Glenn, Artur P. Klamczynski, William J. Orts, and
Luiz HC Mattoso. "Solution blow spinning: A new method to produce micro?and
nanofibers from polymer solutions." Journal of applied polymer science 113, no. 4
(2009): 2322–2330.
[96] John L. Daristotle, Adam M. Behrens, Anthony D. Sandler, Peter Kofinas, A review
of the fundamental principles and applications of solution blow spinning, ACS
Appl. Mater. Interfaces 8 (51) (2016) 34951–34963.
[97] Dias, Gabriel C., Thelma SP Cellet, Mirian C. Santos, Alex O. Sanches, and Luiz F.
Malmonge. "PVDF nanofibers obtained by solution blow spinning with use of a
commercial airbrush." Journal of Polymer Research 26, no. 4 (2019): 87.
[98] D. Rana, T. Matsuura, Surface modifications for antifouling membranes, Chem.
Rev. 110 (2010) 2448–2471.
[99] M.M. Pendergast, E.M.V. Hoek, A review of water treatment membrane nano-
technologies, Energy Environ. Sci. 4 (2011) 1946–1971.
[100] S. Ramakrishna, M.M.A. Shirazi, Electrospun membranes: next generation mem-
branes for desalination and water/wastewater treatment, J. Membr. Sci. Res. 1
(2015) 46–47.
[101] Adnan Haider, Sajjad Haider, Inn-Kyu Kang, A comprehensive review summar-
izing the effect of electrospinning parameters and potential applications of na-
nofibers in biomedical and biotechnology, Arab. J. Chem. 11 (8) (2018)
1165–1188.
[102] Yuan Liao, Chun-Heng Loh, Miao Tian, Rong Wang, Anthony G. Fane, Progress in
electrospun polymeric nanofibrous membranes for water treatment: fabrication,
modification and applications, Prog. Polym. Sci. 77 (2018) 69–94.
[103] McGinnis, Robert L., and Menachem Elimelech. "Global challenges in energy and
water supply: the promise of engineered osmosis." (2008): 8625–8629.
[104] Shuren Chou, Rong Wang, Lei Shi, Qianhong She, Chuyang Tang, Anthony
Gordon Fane, Thin-film composite hollow fiber membranes for pressure retarded
osmosis (PRO) process with high power density, J. Membr. Sci. 389 (2012) 25–33.
[105] Kargari, A., and M. M. A. Shirazi. "Solar-assisted membrane distillation: Water
desalination." Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering and Technology (2nd Ed.),
Taylor & Francis, DOI 10 (2014).
[106] Shirazi, A., Mohammad Mahdi, and Ali Kargari. "A review on applications of
membrane distillation (MD) process for wastewater treatment." Journal of
Membrane Science and Research 1, no. 3 (2015): 101–112.
[107] Mohammad Mahdi A. Shirazi, Ali Kargari, Meisam Tabatabaei, Ahmad
Fauzi Ismail, Takeshi Matsuura, Concentration of glycerol from dilute glycerol
wastewater using sweeping gas membrane distillation, Chem. Eng. Process.
Process Intensif. 78 (2014) 58–66.
[108] Mohammad Mahdi A. Shirazi, Ali Kargari, Meisam Tabatabaei, Evaluation of
37
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
commercial PTFE membranes in desalination by direct contact membrane dis-
tillation, Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif. 76 (2014) 16–25.
[109] Leonard D. Tijing, June-Seok Choi, Sangho Lee, Seung-Hyun Kim, Ho Kyong Shon,
Recent progress of membrane distillation using electrospun nanofibrous mem-
brane, J. Membr. Sci. 453 (2014) 435–462.
[110] Tijing, Leonard D., Woorim Choi, Zhe Jiang, Altangerel Amarjargal, Chan-Hee
Park, Hem Raj Pant, Ik-Tae Im, and Cheol Sang Kim. "Two-nozzle electrospinning
of (MWNT/PU)/PU nanofibrous composite mat with improved mechanical and
thermal properties." Current Applied Physics 13, no. 7 (2013): 1247–1255.
[111] Dan Li, Younan Xia, Direct fabrication of composite and ceramic hollow nanofi-
bers by electrospinning, Nano Lett. 4 (5) (2004) 933–938.
[112] Li-Hua Zhang, Xiao-Peng Duan, Yan Xu, Miao Yu, Xin Ning, Yong Zhao, Yun-
Ze Long, Recent advances in melt electrospinning, RSC Adv. 6 (58) (2016)
53400–53414.
[113] Paul D. Dalton, Dirk Grafahrend, Kristina Klinkhammer, Doris Klee, Martin Möller,
Electrospinning of polymer melts: phenomenological observations, Polymer 48
(23) (2007) 6823–6833.
[114] Xianfeng Wang, Bin Ding, Gang Sun, Moran Wang, Yu. Jianyong, Electro-spin-
ning/netting: a strategy for the fabrication of three-dimensional polymer nano-
fiber/nets, Prog. Mater. Sci. 58 (8) (2013) 1173–1243.
[115] B. Sun, Y.Z. Long, H.D. Zhang, M.M. Li, J.L. Duvail, X.Y. Jiang, H.L. Yin, Advances
in three-dimensional nanofibrous macrostructures via electrospinning, Prog.
Polym. Sci. 39 (5) (2014) 862–890.
[116] Yunqian Dai, Wenying Liu, Eric Formo, Yueming Sun, Younan Xia, Ceramic na-
nofibers fabricated by electrospinning and their applications in catalysis, en-
vironmental science, and energy technology, Polym. Adv. Technol. 22 (3) (2011)
326–338.
[117] Kang, Seung-Ji, Leonard D. Tijing, Bo-sang Hwang, Zhe Jiang, Hak Yong Kim, and
Cheol Sang Kim. "Fabrication and photocatalytic activity of electrospun nylon-6
nanofibers containing tourmaline and titanium dioxide nanoparticles." CERAMICS
international 39, no. 6 (2013): 7143–7148.
[118] Ray, Saikat Sinha, Shiao-Shing Chen, Nguyen Cong Nguyen, and Hau Thi Nguyen.
"Electrospinning: A Versatile Fabrication Technique for Nanofibrous Membranes
for Use in Desalination." In Nanoscale Materials in Water Purification, pp.
247–273. Elsevier, 2019.
[119] Y.Z. Zhang, Y. Feng, Z.M. Huang, S. Ramakrishna, C.T. Lim, Fabrication of porous
electrospun nanofibres, Nanotechnology 17 (3) (2006) 901.
[120] H.Y. Wu, R. Wang, R.W. Field, Direct contact membrane distillation: an experi-
mental and analytical investigation of the effect of membrane thickness upon
transmembrane flux, J. Membr. Sci. 470 (2014) 257–265.
[121] S. Kaur, R. Barhate, S. Sundarrajan, T. Matsuura, S. Ramakrishna, Hot pressing of
electrospun membrane composite and its influence on separation performance on
thin-film composite nanofiltration membrane, Desalination 279 (2011) 201–209.
[122] L. Shen, X. Yu, C. Cheng, C. Song, X. Wang, M. Zhu, B.S. Hsiao, High filtration
performance thin-film nanofiber composite membrane prepared by electro-
spraying technique and hot-pressing treatment, J. Membr. Sci. 499 (2016)
470–479.
[123] M. Yao, Y.C. Woo, L.D. Tijing, W.-G. Shim, J.-S. Choi, S.-H. Kim, H.K. Shon, Effect
of heat-press conditions on electrospun membranes for desalination by direct
contact membrane distillation, Desalination 378 (2016) 80–91.
[124] F. Guo, A. Servi, A. Liu, K.K. Gleason, G.C. Rutledge, Desalination by membrane
distillation using electrospun polyamide fiber membranes with surface fluorina-
tion by chemical vapor deposition, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 7 (2015)
8225–8232.
[125] Y. Lee, M.-H. Ryou, M. Seo, J.W. Choi, Y.M. Lee, Effect of polydopamine surface
coating on polyethylene separators as a function of their porosity for high-power
Li-ion batteries, Electrochim. Acta 113 (2013) 433–438.
[126] Yuan Liao, Rong Wang, Anthony G. Fane, Engineering superhydrophobic surface
on poly (vinylidene fluoride) nanofiber membranes for direct contact membrane
distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 440 (2013) 77–87.
[127] Yuan Liao, Rong Wang, Anthony G. Fane, Fabrication of bioinspired composite
nanofiber membranes with robust superhydrophobicity for direct contact mem-
brane distillation, Environmental science & technology 48 (11) (2014)
6335–6341.
[128] Song, Xiaoxiao, Zhaoyang Liu, and Darren Delai Sun. "Nano gives the answer:
breaking the bottleneck of internal concentration polarization with a nanofiber
composite forward osmosis membrane for a high water production rate."
Advanced materials 23, no. 29 (2011): 3256–3260.
[129] J.A. Prince, D. Rana, T. Matsuura, N. Ayyanar, T.S. Shanmugasundaram, G. Singh,
Nanofiber based triple layer hydro-philic/-phobic membrane—a solution for pore
wetting in membrane distillation, Sci. Rep. 4 (2014) 6949.
[130] Z. Wang, C. Crandall, R. Sahadevan, T.J. Menkhaus, H. Fong, Microfiltration
performance of electrospun nanofiber membranes with varied fiber diameters and
different membrane porosities and thicknesses, Polymer 114 (2017) 64–72.
[131] Mohsen Moslehi, Hossein Mahdavi, Controlled pore size nanofibrous microfiltra-
tion membrane via multi-step interfacial polymerization: preparation and char-
acterization, Sep. Purif. Technol. 223 (2019) 96–106.
[132] Kerianne M. Dobosz, Christopher A. Kuo-Leblanc, Tyler J. Martin, Jessica
D. Schiffman, Ultrafiltration membranes enhanced with electrospun nanofibers
exhibit improved flux and fouling resistance, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 56 (19) (2017)
5724–5733.
[133] M. Tian, Y.N. Wang, R. Wang, A.G. Fane, Synthesis and chacterization of thin-film
nanocomposite forward osmosis membranes supported by silica nanoparticle in-
corporated nanofiber substrate, Desalination 401 (2017) 142–150.
[134] Soheila Shokrollahzadeh, Saharnaz Tajik, Fabrication of thin film composite for-
ward osmosis membrane using electrospun polysulfone/polyacrylonitrile blend
H. Saleem, et al.
nanofibers as porous substrate, Desalination 425 (2018) 68–76.
[135] S. Khezli, M. Zandi, J. Barzin, Fabrication of electrospun nanocomposite poly-
ethersulfone membrane for microfiltration, Polymer Bullet. 73 (2016) 22652286.
[136] Z. Zhou, W. Lin, X.F. Wu, Electrospinning ultrathin continues cellulose acetate
fibers for high-flux water filtration, Colloid Surfaces A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects
494 (2016) 21–29.
[137] J. Yu, Y.G. Kim, D.Y. Kim, S. Lee, H.I. Joh, S.M. Jo, Super high flux microfiltration
based on electrospun nanofiber m-Aramid membranes for water treatment,
Macromol. Res. 23 (2015) 601–606.
[138] Bui, Nhu-Ngoc, Mary Laura Lind, Eric MV Hoek, and Jeffrey R. McCutcheon.
"Electrospun nanofiber supported thin-film composite membranes for engineered
osmosis." J. Membr. Sci. 385 (2011): 10–19.
[139] N.N. Bui, J.R. McCutcheon, Nanoparticle-embeded nanofibers in highly permse-
lective thin-film nanocomposite membranes for forward osmosis, J. Membr. Sci.
518 (2016) 338–346.
[140] Kyunghwan Yoon, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Benjamin Chu, High flux nanofiltration
membranes based on interfacially polymerized polyamide barrier layer on poly-
acrylonitrile nanofibrous scaffolds, J. Membr. Sci. 326 (2) (2009) 484–492.
[141] K. Farahbakhsh, C. Svrcek, R.K. Guest, D.W. Smith, A review of the impact of
chemical pretreatment on low-pressure water treatment membranes, J. Environ.
Eng. Sci. 3 (2004) 237–253.
[142] R. Gopal, S. Kaur, Z. Ma, C. Chan, S. Ramakrishna, T. Matsuura, Electrospun na-
nofibrous filtration membrane, J. Membr. Sci. 281 (2006) 581–586.
[143] H. Yu, Y. Jia, C. Yao, Y. Lu, PCL/PEG core/sheath fibers with controlled drug
release rate fabricated on the basis of a novel combined technique, Int. J. Pharm.
469 (2014) 17–22.
[144] Ran Wang, Liu Yang, Brandon Li, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Benjamin Chu, Electrospun
nanofibrous membranes for high flux microfiltration, J. Membr. Sci. 392 (2012)
167–174.
[145] Teresa Suchecka, Elzbieta Biernacka, Wojciech Piatkiewicz, Microorganism re-
tention on microfiltration membranes, Filtration & separation 40 (8) (2003)
50–55.
[146] Liu, Yang, Ran Wang, Hongyang Ma, Benjamin S. Hsiao, and Benjamin Chu. "High-
flux microfiltration filters based on electrospun polyvinylalcohol nanofibrous
membranes." Polymer 54, no. 2 (2013): 548–556.
[147] Mahadevappa Y. Kariduraganavar, Srikant S. Kulkarni, Arjumand A. Kittur,
Pervaporation separation of water-acetic acid mixtures through poly (vinyl al-
cohol)-silicone based hybrid membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 246 (1) (2005) 83–93.
[148] S.Sh. Homaeigohar, K. Buhr, K. Ebert, Polyethersulfone electrospun nanofibrous
composite membrane for liquid filtration, J. Membr. Sci. 365 (1–2) (2010) 68–77.
[149] Sakine Khezli, Mojgan Zandi, Jalal Barzin, Fabrication of electrospun nano-
composite polyethersulfone membrane for microfiltration, Polym. Bull. 73 (8)
(2016) 2265–2286.
[150] Shahgaldi, Samaneh, Zahira Yaakob, Mostafa Ghasemi, Wan Ramli Wan Daud, and
Dariush Jafar Khadem. "Investigation of the effect of electrospun polyethersulfone
nanofibers in membrane." In Defect and Diffusion Forum, vol. 312, pp. 607–612.
Trans Tech Publications, 2011.
[151] Xiangxiang Liu, Bingyin Jiang, Xing Yin, Hongyang Ma, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Highly
permeable nanofibrous composite microfiltration membranes for removal of na-
noparticles and heavy metal ions, Sep. Purif. Technol. 115976 (2019).
[152] H. Y. Ma, B. S. Hsiao, in Filtering Media by Electrospinning: Next Generation
Membranes for Separation Applications. Ed. Ramakrishna, S. Springer, 2018,
Chapter 2, pp 25–46.
[153] Johnson E. Efome, Dipak Rana, Takeshi Matsuura, Christopher Q. Lan, Metal-or-
ganic frameworks supported on nanofibers to remove heavy metals, J. Mater.
Chem. A 6 (10) (2018) 4550–4555.
[154] Johnson E. Efome, Dipak Rana, Takeshi Matsuura, Christopher Q. Lan, Insight
studies on metal-organic framework nanofibrous membrane adsorption and acti-
vation for heavy metal ions removal from aqueous solution, ACS Appl. Mater.
Interfaces 10 (22) (2018) 18619–18629.
[155] Johnson E. Efome, Dipak Rana, Takeshi Matsuura, Christopher Q. Lan, Experiment
and modeling for flux and permeate concentration of heavy metal ion in ad-
sorptive membrane filtration using a metal-organic framework incorporated na-
nofibrous membrane, Chem. Eng. J. 352 (2018) 737–744.
[156] Johnson E. Efome, Dipak Rana, Takeshi Matsuura, Christopher Q. Lan, Effects of
operating parameters and coexisting ions on the efficiency of heavy metal ions
removal by nano-fibrous metal-organic framework membrane filtration process,
Sci. Total Environ. 674 (2019) 355–362.
[157] Zhao Wang, Caitlin Crandall, Rajesh Sahadevan, Todd J. Menkhaus, Hao Fong,
Microfiltration performance of electrospun nanofiber membranes with varied fiber
diameters and different membrane porosities and thicknesses, Polymer 114 (2017)
64–72.
[158] Jiyeol Bae, Inchan Baek, Heechul Choi, Efficacy of piezoelectric electrospun na-
nofiber membrane for water treatment, Chem. Eng. J. 307 (2017) 670–678.
[159] S. Gee, B. Johnson, A.L. Smith, Optimizing electrospinning parameters for piezo-
electric PVDF nanofiber membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 563 (2018) 804–812.
[160] P. Arribas, M.C. García-Payo, M. Khayet, L. Gil, Heat-treated optimized poly-
sulfone electrospun nanofibrous membranes for high performance wastewater
microfiltration, Sep. Purif. Technol. 226 (2019) 323–336.
[161] A. Manikandan, Mohan Prasath Mani, Saravana Kumar Jaganathan, R. Rajasekar,
M. Jagannath, Formation of functional nanofibrous electrospun polyurethane and
murivenna oil with improved haemocompatibility for wound healing, Polym. Test.
61 (2017) 106–113.
[162] Chun-Er Lin, Jun Wang, Ming-Yong Zhou, Bao-Ku Zhu, Li-Ping Zhu, Cong-Jie Gao,
Poly (m-phenylene isophthalamide)(PMIA): a potential polymer for breaking
through the selectivity-permeability trade-off for ultrafiltration membranes, J.
38
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
Membr. Sci. 518 (2016) 72–78.
[163] Guillen, Gregory R., Yinjin Pan, Minghua Li, and Eric MV Hoek "Preparation and
characterization of membranes formed by nonsolvent induced phase separation: a
review." Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 50, no. 7 (2011):
3798–3817.
[164] Jinming Peng, Su Yanlei, Wenjuan Chen, Qing Shi, Zhongyi Jiang, Effects of
coagulation bath temperature on the separation performance and antifouling
property of poly (ether sulfone) ultrafiltration membranes, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.
49 (10) (2010) 4858–4864.
[165] Arcadio Sotto, Arman Boromand, Stefan Balta, Jeonghwan Kim, Bart Van der
Bruggen, Doping of polyethersulfone nanofiltration membranes: antifouling effect
observed at ultralow concentrations of TiO 2 nanoparticles, Journal of Materials
Chemistry 21 (28) (2011) 10311–10320.
[166] Hongyang Ma, Kyunghwan Yoon, Lixia Rong, Yimin Mao, Zhirui Mo, Dufei Fang,
Zachary Hollander, Joseph Gaiteri, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Benjamin Chu, High-flux
thin-film nanofibrous composite ultrafiltration membranes containing cellulose
barrier layer, J. Mater. Chem. 20 (22) (2010) 4692–4704.
[167] Tran, Thi Dung, Shinsuke Mori, and Masaaki Suzuki. "Plasma modification of
polyacrylonitrile ultrafiltration membrane." Thin Solid Films 515, no. 9 (2007):
4148–4152.
[168] J.F. Hester, P. Banerjee, A.M. Mayes, Preparation of protein-resistant surfaces on
poly (vinylidene fluoride) membranes via surface segregation, Macromolecules 32
(5) (1999) 1643–1650.
[169] Jiguo Zhang, Zhiwei Xu, Wei Mai, Chunying Min, Baoming Zhou, Mingjing Shan,
Yinglin Li, Caiyun Yang, Zhen Wang, Xiaoming Qian, Improved hydrophilicity,
permeability, antifouling and mechanical performance of PVDF composite ultra-
filtration membranes tailored by oxidized low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials,
J. Mater. Chem. A 1 (9) (2013) 3101–3111.
[170] Pegah Bahmani, Afshin Maleki, Hiua Daraei, Mehrdad Khamforoush, Reza Rezaee,
Fardin Gharibi, Alexey G. Tkachev, Alexander E. Burakov, Shilpi Agarwal, Vinod
Kumar Gupta, High-flux ultrafiltration membrane based on electrospun poly-
acrylonitrile nanofibrous scaffolds for arsenate removal from aqueous solutions, J.
Colloid Interface Sci. 506 (2017) 564–571.
[171] Ann Dorrit Enevoldsen, Erik Børresen Hansen, G. Jonsson, Electro-ultrafiltration of
industrial enzyme solutions, Journal of Membrane science 299 (1–2) (2007)
28–37.
[172] Hans Saveyn, Paul Van der Meeren, Ralph Hofmann, Werner Stahl, Modelling two-
sided electrofiltration of quartz suspensions: importance of electrochemical reac-
tions, Chemical engineering science 60 (23) (2005) 6768–6779.
[173] Park, Young G. "Effect of an electric field during purification of protein using
microfiltration." Desalination 191, no. 1–3 (2006): 404–410.
[174] Lapointe, Jean-François, Sylvie F. Gauthier, Yves Pouliot, and Christian Bouchard.
"Selective separation of cationic peptides from a tryptic hydrolysate of ??lacto-
globulin by electrofiltration." Biotechnology and bioengineering 94, no. 2 (2006):
223–233.
[175] Weng, Yu-Hsiang, Kung-Cheh Li, Lin Han Chaung-Hsieh, and C. P. Huang.
"Removal of humic substances (HS) from water by electro-microfiltration (EMF)."
Water research 40, no. 9 (2006): 1783-1794.
[176] Wenbin Zhong, Xianhong Chen, Shoumei Liu, Yongxin Wang, Wantai Yang,
Synthesis of highly hydrophilic polyaniline nanowires and sub-micro/nanos-
tructured dendrites on poly (propylene) film surfaces, Macromol. Rapid Commun.
27 (7) (2006) 563–569.
[177] I.S. Al-Husaini, A.R.M. Yusoff, W.J. Lau, A.F. Ismail, M.Z. Al-Abri, B.N. Al-Ghafri,
M.D.H. Wirzal, Fabrication of polyethersulfone electrospun nanofibrous mem-
branes incorporated with hydrous manganese dioxide for enhanced ultrafiltration
of oily solution, Sep. Purif. Technol. 212 (2019) 205–214.
[178] H. Ma, K. Yoon, L. Rong, M. Shokralla, A. Kopot, X. Wang, D. Fang, B. Hsiao,
B. Chu, Thin-film nanofiber composite ultrafiltration membranes based on poly-
vinyl alcohol barrier layer containing directional water channels, Ind. Eng. Chem.
Res. 49 (2010) 11978–11984.
[179] Hao You, Xiong Li, Yin Yang, Baoyi Wang, Zhuoxi Li, Xuefen Wang, Meifang Zhu,
Benjamin S. Hsiao, High flux low pressure thin-film nanocomposite ultrafiltration
membranes based on nanofibrous substrates, Sep. Purif. Technol. 108 (2013)
143–151.
[180] Van der Bruggen, Bart, Kim Everaert, Dirk Wilms, Carlo Vandecasteele,
Application of nanofiltration for removal of pesticides, nitrate and hardness from
ground water: rejection properties and economic evaluation, J. Membr. Sci. 193
(2) (2001) 239–248.
[181] A.F. Mohammad, K. Al-NaseriSaadi, A.F. Qusay, A.N. Samirra, R.T. Khalid,
Desalination of Iraqi surface water using nanofiltration membranes, Desalin.
Water Treat. 29 (2011) 174–180.
[182] Renuga Gopal, Satinderpal Kaur, Chao Yang Feng, Casey Chan,
Seeram Ramakrishna, Shahram Tabe, Takeshi Matsuura, Electrospun nanofibrous
polysulfone membranes as pre-filters: particulate removal, J. Membr. Sci. 289
(1–2) (2007) 210–219.
[183] Jinglei Hao, Gangtie Lei, Zhaohui Li, Lijun Wu, Qizhen Xiao, Li Wang, A novel
polyethylene terephthalate nonwoven separator based on electrospinning tech-
nique for lithium ion battery, J. Membr. Sci. 428 (2013) 11–16.
[184] Zuwei Ma, Masaya Kotaki, Thomas Yong, Wei He, Seeram Ramakrishna, Surface
engineering of electrospun polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofibers towards
development of a new material for blood vessel engineering, Biomaterials 26 (15)
(2005) 2527–2536.
[185] Hossein Mahdavi, Mohsen Moslehi, A new thin-film composite nanofiltration
membrane based on pet nanofiber support and polyamide top layer: preparation
and characterization, J. Polym. Res. 23 (12) (2016) 257.
[186] H. You, Y. Yang, X. Li, K. Zhang, X. Wang, M. Zhu, B.S. Hsiao, Low pressure high
H. Saleem, et al.
flux thin-film nanofiber composite membranes prepared by electrospraying tech-
nique combined with solution treatment, J. Membr. Sci. 394-395 (2012) 241–247.
[187] X. Wang, K. Zhang, Y. Yang, L. Wang, Z. Zhou, M. Zhu, B.S. Hsiao, B. Chu,
Development of hydrophilic barrier layer on nanofiber substrate as composite
membrane via a facile route, J. Membr. Sci. 356 (2010) 110–116.
[188] G. Decher, Fuzzy nanoassemblies: toward layered polymeric multicomposites,
Science 277 (1997) 1232–1237.
[189] G.R. Xu, S.H. Wang, H.L. Zhao, S.B. Wu, J.M. Xu, L. Li, X.Y. Liu, Layer-by-layer
(LBL) assembly technology as promising strategy for tailoring pressure-driven
desalination membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 493 (2015) 428–443.
[190] B. Ding, C. Li, S. Fujita, S. Shiratori, Layer-by-layer self-assembled tubular films
containing polyoxometalate on electrospun nanofibers, Colloids Surf. A
Physicochem. Eng. Asp. 284 (2006) 257–262.
[191] W. Huang, H. Xu, Y. Xue, R. Huang, H. Deng, S. Pan, Layer-by-layer im-
mobilization of lysozyme-chitosan-organic rectorite composites on electrospun
nanofiber mats for pork preservation, Food Res. Int. 48 (2012) 784–791.
[192] Guo-Rong Xu, Xiao-Yu Liu, Jian-Mei Xu, Li Lu, Su Hui-Chao, He-Li Zhao, Hou-
Jun Feng, High flux nanofiltration membranes based on layer-by-layer assembly
modified electrospun nanofibrous substrate, Appl. Surf. Sci. 434 (2018) 573–581.
[193] Pei Shan Zhong, Natalia Widjojo, Tai-Shung Chung, Martin Weber,
Christian Maletzko, Positively charged nanofiltration (NF) membranes via UV
grafting on sulfonated polyphenylenesulfone (sPPSU) for effective removal of
textile dyes from wastewater, J. Membr. Sci. 417 (2012) 52–60.
[194] P. Daraei, S.S. Madaeni, N. Ghaemi, H.A. Monfared, M.A. Khadivi, Fabrication of
PES nanofiltration membrane by simultaneous use of multi-walled carbon nano-
tube and surface graft polymerization method: comparison of MWCNT and PAA
modified MWCNT, Sep. Purif. Technol. 104 (2013) 32–44.
[195] Banerjee, Indrani, Tsegie Faris, Zlatka Stoeva, Paul G. Harris, J. Chen, Ashwani K.
Sharma, and Asim K. Ray. "Graphene films printable on flexible substrates for
sensor applications." (2016).
[196] Daniel R. Dreyer, Sungjin Park, Christopher W. Bielawski, Rodney S. Ruoff, The
chemistry of graphene oxide, Chem. Soc. Rev. 39 (1) (2010) 228–240.
[197] Wang, Zhao, Rajesh Sahadevan, Che-Ning Yeh, Todd J. Menkhaus, Jiaxing Huang,
and Hao Fong. "Hot-pressed polymer nanofiber supported graphene membrane for
high-performance nanofiltration." Nanotechnology 28, no. 31 (2017): 31LT02.
[198] Liu, Jiangtao, Dan Hua, Yu Zhang, Susilo Japip, and Tai?Shung Chung. "Precise
molecular sieving architectures with janus pathways for both polar and nonpolar
molecules." Advanced Materials 30, no. 11 (2018): 1705933.
[199] Tiantian Gao, Huang Liang, Chun Li, Guochuang Xu, Gaoquan Shi, Graphene
membranes with tuneable nanochannels by intercalating self-assembled porphyrin
molecules for organic solvent nanofiltration, Carbon 124 (2017) 263–270.
[200] Fan Fei, Levente Cseri, Gyorgy Szekely, Christopher F. Blanford, Robust covalently
cross-linked polybenzimidazole/graphene oxide membranes for high-flux organic
solvent nanofiltration, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 10 (18) (2018) 16140–16147.
[201] Ayang Zhou, Chang Shi, Xiao He, Fu Yan, Abdul Waqas Anjum, Jinli Zhang,
Wei Li, Polyarylester nanofiltration membrane prepared from monomers of va-
nillic alcohol and trimesoyl chloride, Sep. Purif. Technol. 193 (2018) 58–68.
[202] Shen, Junjie, Salman Shahid, Adem Sarihan, Darrell A. Patterson, and Emma AC
Emanuelsson. "Effect of polyacid dopants on the performance of polyaniline
membranes in organic solvent nanofiltration." Sep. Purif. Technol. 204 (2018):
336–344.
[203] Alabi, Adetunji, Ahmed AlHajaj, Levente Cseri, Gyorgy Szekely, Peter Budd, and
Linda Zou. "Review of nanomaterials-assisted ion exchange membranes for elec-
tromembrane desalination." npj Clean Water 1, no. 1 (2018): 10.
[204] Shushan Yuan, Jasper Swartenbroekx, Yi Li, Junyong Zhu, Frederik Ceyssens,
Ruijun Zhang, Alexander Volodine, Jian Li, Peter Van Puyvelde, Bart Van der
Bruggen, Facile synthesis of Kevlar nanofibrous membranes via regeneration of
hydrogen bonds for organic solvent nanofiltration, J. Membr. Sci. 573 (2019)
612–620.
[205] Yan-ling Liu, Xiao-mao Wang, Hong-wei Yang, Yuefeng F. Xie, Quantifying the
influence of solute-membrane interactions on adsorption and rejection of phar-
maceuticals by NF/RO membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 551 (2018) 37–46.
[206] Yan-ling Liu, Yang-ying Zhao, Xiao-mao Wang, Xiang-hua Wen, Xia Huang,
Yuefeng F. Xie, Effect of varying piperazine concentration and post-modification
on prepared nanofiltration membranes in selectively rejecting organic micro-
pollutants and salts, J. Membr. Sci. 582 (2019) 274–283.
[207] Yuling Ren, Junyong Zhu, Shenzhen Cong, Jing Wang, Bart Van der Bruggen,
Jindun Liu, Yatao Zhang, High flux thin film nanocomposite membranes based on
porous organic polymers for nanofiltration, J. Membr. Sci. 585 (2019) 19–28.
[208] Yan-ling Liu, Yang-ying Zhao, Xiao-mao Wang, Xiang-hua Wen, Xia Huang,
Yuefeng F. Xie, Effect of varying piperazine concentration and post-modification
on prepared nanofiltration membranes in selectively rejecting organic micro-
pollutants and salts, J. Membr. Sci. 582 (2019) 274–283.
[209] Yuling Ren, Junyong Zhu, Shenzhen Cong, Jing Wang, Bart Van der Bruggen,
Jindun Liu, Yatao Zhang, High flux thin film nanocomposite membranes based on
porous organic polymers for nanofiltration, J. Membr. Sci. 585 (2019) 19–28.
[210] Ji Hoon Kim, Sun Ju Moon, Sang Hyun Park, Marcus Cook, Andrew G. Livingston,
Young Moo Lee, A robust thin film composite membrane incorporating thermally
rearranged polymer support for organic solvent nanofiltration and pressure re-
tarded osmosis, J. Membr. Sci. 550 (2018) 322–331.
[211] Zhe Tan, Shengfu Chen, Xinsheng Peng, Zhang Lin, Congjie Gao, Polyamide
membranes with nanoscale Turing structures for water purification, Science 360
(6388) (2018) 518–521.
[212] Zhenyi Wang, Zhangxin Wang, Shihong Lin, Huile Jin, Shoujian Gao,
Yuzhang Zhu, Jian Jin, Nanoparticle-templated nanofiltration membranes for ul-
trahigh performance desalination, Nat. Commun. 9 (1) (2018) 2004.
39
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
[213] Zhao Zhang, Guodong Kang, Haijun Yu, Yan Jin, Yiming Cao, Fabrication of a
highly permeable composite nanofiltration membrane via interfacial polymeriza-
tion by adding a novel acyl chloride monomer with an anhydride group, J. Membr.
Sci. 570 (2019) 403–409.
[214] J. Zhu, J. Hou, R. Zhang, S. Yuan, J. Li, M. Tian, P. Wang, Y. Zhang, A. Volodin,
B. Van der Bruggen, Rapid water transport through controllable, ultrathin poly-
amide nanofilms for high-performance nanofiltration, J. Mater. Chem. 6 (2018)
15701–15709.
[215] Yi Li, Eric Wong, Zhaohuan Mai, Bart Van der Bruggen, Fabrication of composite
polyamide/Kevlar aramid nanofiber nanofiltration membranes with high perms-
electivity in water desalination, J. Membr. Sci. (2019) 117396.
[216] Tzahi Y. Cath, Amy E. Childress, Menachem Elimelech, Forward osmosis: princi-
ples, applications, and recent developments, J. Membr. Sci. 281 (1–2) (2006)
70–87.
[217] Jeffrey R. McCutcheon, Menachem Elimelech, Influence of concentrative and di-
lutive internal concentration polarization on flux behavior in forward osmosis, J.
Membr. Sci. 284 (1–2) (2006) 237–247.
[218] Liwei Huang, Jason T. Arena, Jeffrey R. McCutcheon, Surface modified PVDF
nanofiber supported thin-film composite membranes for forward osmosis, J.
Membr. Sci. 499 (2016) 352–360.
[219] Alberto Tiraferri, Ngai Yin Yip, William A. Phillip, Jessica D. Schiffman,
Menachem Elimelech, Relating performance of thin-film composite forward os-
mosis membranes to support layer formation and structure, J. Membr. Sci. 367
(1–2) (2011) 340–352.
[220] J.E. Cadotte, R.J. Petersen, R.E. Larson, E.E. Erickson, A new thin-film composite
seawater reverse osmosis membrane, Desalination 32 (1980) 25–31.
[221] Asiyeh Peyki, Ahmad Rahimpour, Mohsen Jahanshahi, Preparation and char-
acterization of thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes incorporated with
hydrophilic SiO2 nanoparticles, Desalination 368 (2015) 152–158.
[222] John Marc C. Puguan, Han-Seung Kim, Kyu-Jin Lee, Hern Kim, Low internal
concentration polarization in forward osmosis membranes with hydrophilic
crosslinked PVA nanofibers as porous support layer, Desalination 336 (2014)
24–31.
[223] En L. Tian, Huan Zhou, Yi W. Ren, Xing Z. Wang, Shao W. Xiong, Novel design of
hydrophobic/hydrophilic interpenetrating network composite nanofibers for the
support layer of forward osmosis membrane, Desalination 347 (2014) 207–214.
[224] Leonard D. Tijing, Yun Chul Woo, Md Abu Hasan Johir, June-Seok Choi, Ho
Kyong Shon, A novel dual-layer bicomponent electrospun nanofibrous membrane
for desalination by direct contact membrane distillation, Chem. Eng. J. 256 (2014)
155–159.
[225] Myoung Jun Park, Ralph Rolly Gonzales, Ahmed Abdel-Wahab, Sherub Phuntsho,
Ho Kyong Shon, Hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol coating on hydrophobic electro-
spun nanofiber membrane for high performance thin-film composite forward os-
mosis membrane, Desalination 426 (2018) 50–59.
[226] Liwei Huang, Jeffrey R. McCutcheon, Hydrophilic nylon 6, 6 nanofibers supported
thin-film composite membranes for engineered osmosis, J. Membr. Sci. 457 (2014)
162–169.
[227] Liwei Huang, Seetha S. Manickam, Jeffrey R. McCutcheon, Increasing strength of
electrospun nanofiber membranes for water filtration using solvent vapor, J.
Membr. Sci. 436 (2013) 213–220.
[228] Jing Wei, Changquan Qiu, Chuyang Y. Tang, Rong Wang, Anthony G. Fane,
Synthesis and characterization of flat-sheet thin-film composite forward osmosis
membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 372 (1–2) (2011) 292–302.
[229] Tai-Shung Chung, Xue Li, Rui Chin Ong, Qingchun Ge, Honglei Wang, Gang Han,
Emerging forward osmosis (FO) technologies and challenges ahead for clean water
and clean energy applications, Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 1 (3)
(2012) 246–257.
[230] Chalida Klaysom, Sanne Hermans, Amit Gahlaut, Sam Van Craenenbroeck, Ivo
F.J. Vankelecom, Polyamide/Polyacrylonitrile (PA/PAN) thin-film composite os-
mosis membranes: film optimization, characterization and performance evalua-
tion, J. Membr. Sci. 445 (2013) 25–33.
[231] Gang Li, Xue-Mei Li, Tao He, Biao Jiang, Congjie Gao, Cellulose triacetate forward
osmosis membranes: preparation and characterization, Desalin. Water Treat. 51
(13–15) (2013) 2656–2665.
[232] Myoung Jun Park, Sherub Phuntsho, Tao He, Grace M. Nisola, Leonard D. Tijing,
Xue-Mei Li, Gang Chen, Wook-Jin Chung, Ho Kyong Shon, Graphene oxide in-
corporated polysulfone substrate for the fabrication of flat-sheet thin-film com-
posite forward osmosis membranes, J. Membr. Sci. 493 (2015) 496–507.
[233] Yue Cui, Xiang-Yang Liu, Tai-Shung Chung, Enhanced osmotic energy generation
from salinity gradients by modifying thin-film composite membranes, Chem. Eng.
J. 242 (2014) 195–203.
[234] Wansuk Choi, Sungkwon Jeon, Soon Jin Kwon, Hosik Park, You-In Park, Seung-
Eun Nam, Pyung Soo Lee, et al., Thin film composite reverse osmosis membranes
prepared via layered interfacial polymerization, J. Membr. Sci. 527 (2017)
121–128.
[235] Song, Xiaoxiao, Zhaoyang Liu, and Darren Delai Sun. "Energy recovery from
concentrated seawater brine by thin-film nanofiber composite pressure retarded
osmosis membranes with high power density." Energy & Environmental Science 6,
no. 4 (2013): 1199–1210.
[236] P. Xiao, L.D. Nghiem, Y. Yin, X.-M. Li, M. Zhang, G. Chen, J. Song, T. He, A sa-
crificial-layer approach to fabricate polysulfone support for forward osmosis
thinfilm composite membranes with reduced internal concentration polarisation,
J. Membr. Sci. 481 (2015) 106–114.
[237] I.L. Alsvik, M.-B. Hägg, Pressure retarded osmosis and forward osmosis mem-
branes: materials and methods, Polymer 5 (2013) 303–327.
[238] Gang Chen, Renxiao Liu, Ho Kyong Shon, Yanqiang Wang, Jianfeng Song, Xue-
H. Saleem, et al.
Mei Li, Tao He, Open porous hydrophilic supported thin-film composite forward
osmosis membrane via co-casting for treatment of high-salinity wastewater,
Desalination 405 (2017) 76–84.
[239] Ralph Gonzales, Myoung Park, Leonard Tijing, Han Dong, Sherub Phuntsho,
Ho Shon, Modification of nanofiber support layer for thin-film composite forward
osmosis membranes via layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte deposition, Membranes 8
(3) (2018) 70.
[240] Shu-Fang Pan, Yingchao Dong, Yu-Ming Zheng, Lu-Bin Zhong, Zhi-Hua Yuan, Self-
sustained hydrophilic nanofiber thin film composite forward osmosis membranes:
preparation, characterization and application for simulated antibiotic wastewater
treatment, J. Membr. Sci. 523 (2017) 205–215.
[241] Jie Shi, Hui Kang, Nan Li, Kunyue Teng, Wanying Sun, Zhiwei Xu, Xiaoming Qian,
Qin Liu, Chitosan sub-layer binding and bridging for nanofiber-based composite
forward osmosis membrane, Appl. Surf. Sci. 478 (2019) 38–48.
[242] Xiang-Yu Chi, Ping-Yun Zhang, Xue-Jiao Guo, Xu. Zhen-Liang, A novel TFC for-
ward osmosis (FO) membrane supported by polyimide (PI) microporous nanofiber
membrane, Appl. Surf. Sci. 427 (2018) 1–9.
[243] Alessandra Criscuoli, Enrico Drioli, Energetic and exergetic analysis of an in-
tegrated membrane desalination system, Desalination 124 (1–3) (1999) 243–249.
[244] M. Gryta, K. Karakulski, A.W. Morawski, Purification of oily wastewater by hybrid
UF/MD, Water Res. 35 (15) (2001) 3665–3669.
[245] F.A. Banat, J. Simandl, Desalination by membrane distillation: a parametric study,
Sep. Sci. Technol. 33 (2) (1998) 201–226.
[246] J. Blanco Gálvez, L. García-Rodríguez, I. Martín-Mateos, Seawater desalination by
an innovative solar-powered membrane distillation system: the MEDESOL project,
Desalination 246 (1–3) (2009) 567–576.
[247] G. Zakrzewska-Trznadel, M. Harasimowicz, A.G. Chmielewski, Concentration of
radioactive components in liquid low-level radioactive waste by membrane dis-
tillation, J. Membr. Sci. 163 (2) (1999) 257–264.
[248] P.P. Zolotarev, et al., Treatment of waste water for removing heavy metals by
membrane distillation, J. Hazard. Mater. 37 (1) (1994) 77–82.
[249] M.C. García-Payo, M.A. Izquierdo-Gil, C. Fernández-Pineda, Air gap membrane
distillation of aqueous alcohol solutions, J. Membr. Sci. 169 (1) (2000) 61–80.
[250] An, Alicia Kyoungjin, Eui-Jong Lee, Jiaxin Guo, Sanghyun Jeong, Jung-Gil Lee,
and Noreddine Ghaffour. "Enhanced vapor transport in membrane distillation via
functionalized carbon nanotubes anchored into electrospun nanofibres." Scientific
reports 7 (2017): 41562.
[251] Leonard D. Tijing, Yun Chul Woo, June-Seok Choi, Sangho Lee, Seung-Hyun Kim,
Ho Kyong Shon, Fouling and its control in membrane distillation—a review, J.
Membr. Sci. 475 (2015) 215–244.
[252] L.K. Wang, Membrane and Desalination Technologies, Humana Press. Epub ahead
of print, New York, NY, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-278-6.
[253] X. Wang, B. Ding, J. Yu, M. Wang, Engineering biomimetic superhydrophobic
surfaces of electrospun nanomaterials, Nano Today 6 (2011) 510–530.
[254] O. Tasuku, D. Bin, S. Yuji, S. Seimei, Super-hydrophobic surfaces of layer-bylayer
structured film-coated electrospun nanofibrous membranes, Nanotechnology 18
(2007) 165607.
[255] Yuan Liao, Rong Wang, Miao Tian, Changquan Qiu, Anthony G. Fane, Fabrication
of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofiber membranes by electro-spinning for
direct contact membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 425 (2013) 30–39.
[256] X. Li, M.C. García-Payo, M. Khayet, M. Wang, X. Wang, Superhydrophobic poly-
sulfone/polydimethylsiloxane electrospun nanofibrous membranes for water de-
salination by direct contact membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 542 (2017)
308–319.
[257] Li Deng, Haohui Ye, Xiong Li, Peiyun Li, Jiawei Zhang, Xuefen Wang,
Meifang Zhu, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Self-roughened omniphobic coatings on nanofi-
brous membrane for membrane distillation, Sep. Purif. Technol. 206 (2018)
14–25.
[258] Yun Chul Woo, Ying Chen, Leonard D. Tijing, Sherub Phuntsho, Tao He, June-
Seok Choi, Seung-Hyun Kim, Ho Kyong Shon, CF4 plasma-modified omniphobic
electrospun nanofiber membrane for produced water brine treatment by mem-
brane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 529 (2017) 234–242.
[259] Alicia Kyoungjin An, Jiaxin Guo, Eui-Jong Lee, Sanghyun Jeong, Yanhua Zhao,
Zuankai Wang, TorOve Leiknes, PDMS/PVDF hybrid electrospun membrane with
superhydrophobic property and drop impact dynamics for dyeing wastewater
treatment using membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 525 (2017) 57–67.
[260] Evyatar Shaulsky, Siamak Nejati, Chanhee Boo, François Perreault, Chinedum
O. Osuji, Menachem Elimelech, Post-fabrication modification of electrospun na-
nofiber mats with polymer coating for membrane distillation applications, J.
Membr. Sci. 530 (2017) 158–165.
[261] Seyed Mahdi Seyed Shahabadi, Hesamoddin Rabiee, Seyed Mojtaba Seyedi,
Amir Mokhtare, Jonathan A. Brant, Superhydrophobic dual layer functionalized
titanium dioxide/polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (TiO2/PH) na-
nofibrous membrane for high flux membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 537
(2017) 140–150.
[262] Zhigao Zhu, Zhiquan Liu, Lingling Zhong, Chengjie Song, Wenxin Shi, Fuyi Cui,
40
Desalination 478 (2020) 114178
Wei Wang, Breathable and asymmetrically superwettable Janus membrane with
robust oil-fouling resistance for durable membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 563
(2018) 602–609.
[263] Mohamed Khayet, Rong Wang, Mixed matrix polytetrafluoroethylene/polysulfone
electrospun nanofibrous membranes for water desalination by membrane dis-
tillation, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 10 (28) (2018) 24275–24287.
[264] Li Deng, Haohui Ye, Xiong Li, Peiyun Li, Jiawei Zhang, Xuefen Wang,
Meifang Zhu, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Self-roughened omniphobic coatings on nanofi-
brous membrane for membrane distillation, Sep. Purif. Technol. 206 (2018)
14–25.
[265] Jianlong Ge, Dingding Zong, Qing Jin, Jianyong Yu, Bin Ding, Biomimetic and
superwettable nanofibrous skins for highly efficient separation of oil-in-water
emulsions, Adv. Funct. Mater. 28 (10) (2018) 1705051.
[266] Zhigao Zhu, Yuanren Liu, Haoqing Hou, Wenxin Shi, Qu Fangshu, Fuyi Cui,
Wei Wang, Dual-bioinspired design for constructing membranes with super-
hydrophobicity for direct contact membrane distillation, Environmental science &
technology 52 (5) (2018) 3027–3036.
[267] Liming Song, Baoan Li, Kamalesh K. Sirkar, Jack L. Gilron, Direct contact mem-
brane distillation-based desalination: novel membranes, devices, larger-scale stu-
dies, and a model, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 46 (8) (2007) 2307–2323.
[268] X. Yang, R. Wang, L. Shi, A.G. Fane, M. Debowski, Performance improvement of
PVDF hollow fiber-based membrane distillation process, J. Membr. Sci. 369
(2011) 437–447.
[269] Yun Chul Woo, Leonard D. Tijing, Myoung Jun Park, Minwei Yao, June-Seok Choi,
Sangho Lee, Seung-Hyun Kim, Kyoung-Jin An, Ho Kyong Shon, Electrospun dual-
layer nonwoven membrane for desalination by air gap membrane distillation,
Desalination 403 (2017) 187–198.
[270] M. Khayet, M.C. García-Payo, L. García-Fernández, J. Contreras-Martínez, Dual-
layered electrospun nanofibrous membranes for membrane distillation,
Desalination 426 (2018) 174–184.
[271] Li Deng, Peiyun Li, Kang Liu, Xuefen Wang, Benjamin S. Hsiao, Robust super-
hydrophobic dual layer nanofibrous composite membranes with a hierarchically
structured amorphous polypropylene skin for membrane distillation, J. Mater.
Chem. A 7 (18) (2019) 11282–11297.
[272] Sang Hyun Park, Ji Hoon Kim, Sun Ju Moon, Enrico Drioli, Young Moo Lee,
Enhanced, hydrophobic, fluorine-containing, thermally rearranged (TR) nanofiber
membranes for desalination via membrane distillation, J. Membr. Sci. 550 (2018)
545–553.
[273] P. Arribas, M. Khayet, M.C. García-Payo, L. Gil, Self-sustained electro-spun poly-
sulfone nano-fibrous membranes and their surface modification by interfacial
polymerization for micro-and ultra-filtration, Sep. Purif. Technol. 138 (2014)
118–129.
[274] M. Khayet, C. García-Payo, T. Matsuura, Superhydrophobic nanofibers electrospun
by surface segregating fluorinated amphiphilic additive for membrane distillation,
J. Membr. Sci. 117215 (2019).
[275] Andrea Bianco, Giacomo Iardino, Chiara Bertarelli, Luciano Miozzo,
Antonio Papagni, Giuseppe Zerbi, Modification of surface properties of electro-
spun polyamide nanofibers by means of a perfluorinated acridine, Appl. Surf. Sci.
253 (20) (2007) 8360–8364.
[276] Qinglin Huang, Shangpeng Gao, Yan Huang, Mengyuan Zhang, Changfa Xiao,
Study on photothermal PVDF/ATO nanofiber membrane and its membrane dis-
tillation performance, J. Membr. Sci. 582 (2019) 203–210.
[277] Madhuleena Bhadra, Sagar Roy, Somenath Mitra, Flux enhancement in direct
contact membrane distillation by implementing carbon nanotube immobilized
PTFE membrane, Sep. Purif. Technol. 161 (2016) 136–143.
[278] Leonard D. Tijing, Yun Chul Woo, Wang-Geun Shim, Tao He, June-Seok Choi,
Seung-Hyun Kim, Ho Kyong Shon, Superhydrophobic nanofiber membrane con-
taining carbon nanotubes for high-performance direct contact membrane dis-
tillation, J. Membr. Sci. 502 (2016) 158–170.
[279] Kang-Kang Yan, Lei Jiao, Saisai Lin, Xiaosheng Ji, Yin Lu, Zhang Lin,
Superhydrophobic electrospun nanofiber membrane coated by carbon nanotubes
network for membrane distillation, Desalination 437 (2018) 26–33.
[280] Zhe-Qin Dong, Bao-Juan Wang, Xiao-hua Ma, Yong-Ming Wei, Xu. Zhen-Liang,
FAS grafted electrospun poly (vinyl alcohol) nanofiber membranes with robust
superhydrophobicity for membrane distillation, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 7 (40)
(2015) 22652–22659.
[281] Johnson E. Efome, Dipak Rana, Takeshi Matsuura, Christopher Q. Lan, Enhanced
performance of PVDF nanocomposite membrane by nanofiber coating: a mem-
brane for sustainable desalination through MD, Water Res. 89 (2016) 39–49.
[282] Tao Zhou, Yongyi Yao, Ruili Xiang, Wu Yurong, Formation and characterization of
polytetrafluoroethylene nanofiber membranes for vacuum membrane distillation,
J. Membr. Sci. 453 (2014) 402–408.
[283] A. Hemmat, S.M. Ghoreishi, J. Karimi Sabet, Effect of salt additives on the fabri-
cation of poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluropropylene)(PVDF-HFP) nanofiber
membranes for air gap membrane distillation, Procedia Mater. Sci. 11 (2015)
370–375.