Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The directional transfer of water is an important process for many living organisms and an increasingly important technological concept that enables applications such as fog harvesting, separation processes, smart packaging, and advanced textiles. Among the various strategies for achieving directional permeation, asymmetric dense polymer membranes have proven particularly effective. Over the past decade, research on natural and engineered systems has expanded significantly, leading to numerous innovative material solutions. After providing a historical perspective on research on directional biological membranes, this review summarizes the fundamentals governing asymmetric permeation in dense polymer membranes, highlights recent advances concerning the design, fabrication, and characterization of such structures, and discusses possible applications. Finally, current challenges and future opportunities for advancing this field toward scalable and multifunctional systems are presented.
Source: ACS Applied Polymer Materials
Institutions: University of Fribourg, Chulalongkorn University, Petromat
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Award: G1705413718
OpenAlex ID: W7156233289