Hybrid ceramic membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration: State-of-the-art and challenges

Uniquely suited to organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) are hybrid, ceramic-based membranes. The stability of these membranes in the harsh solvents and conditions of industrial process streams is due to the sturdy and inert architecture of the ceramic, while the organic functionalization is responsible for surface and pore properties of the membrane, and hence its performance. Recently, this kind of inorganic-organic union has produced a plethora of stable and high-performance membranes in a variety of OSN conditions - the topic of this review. This work details and compares the surface modification methods used to fabricate these membranes and their resulting performance. Also, we discuss the capabilities and shortcomings of both the characterization tools and the transport models used to describe this class of membranes. Throughout we aim to provide insight into the challenges awaiting the researcher of hybrid, ceramic-based membranes for OSN.