Fluorinated Membranes for Liquid Separation: A Review

Compared with other traditional separation technologies, membrane separation technologies have become a forefront solution to looming energy and environmental issues owing to their significant advantages, e.g., low energy consumption, environmental friendliness, easy operation, and high efficiency. Among them, a fluorinated membrane was a special membrane material with fluorine functional groups, which is endowed with special properties and plays a key role in specific liquid separation. Due to the high electronegativity of the fluorine atom itself, the fluorine functional groups formed by it and other atoms often have stability and special physical and chemical properties. This gives the fluorinated membrane high chemical stability and excellent antifouling properties, demonstrating excellent capabilities for the enhancement of the usage lifetime and separation efficiency. However, there is a lack of comprehensive review to summarize the new phase of progress in the domain of liquid separation with fluorinated membranes. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the intricate relationships among design strategies, functionalization, and preparation methods for fluorinated membranes. Furthermore, the review generalizes the present applications for fluorinated membranes including pervaporation, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, and oil–water separation, while proposing future research directions and challenges. By rational analysis of preparation methodologies, structure advantages, and application potential, this review will provide significant reference value in the development of new membrane materials with fluoric structure.