Recent research progress on the stimuli-responsive smart membrane: A review

Abstract

The smart membrane is a new type of functional membrane. The performance of this membrane is changed according to the variations in external physical and chemical signals. This membrane has become an essential focus in specific recognition, catalysis, selective permeation, and other fields. However, the problems of this membrane are weak anti-pollution ability, poor response performance, and inability of mass production. Therefore, scholars have done a lot of research on improving this membrane by modification, grafting polymerization, phase transformation, and in situ cross-linking copolymerization. This review provides a comparative investigation and summary of smart membranes, including temperature, light, electric field, magnetic field, pH, and specific molecular and ion-responsive membranes. Moreover, the authors also introduce the preparation process, selectivity, optimization and improvement of membranes, and their application fields. Finally, the authors' perspective on the current key issues and directions of these fields for future development are also discussed.