Electrospraying technique in fabrication of separation membranes: A review

Electrospraying and electrospinning are superficial, flexible and cost-effective techniques, which use electrically charged jet of a suspension or a polymer solution for fabricating particles or fibers at micro- and nano-sizes. These particles and fibers have been effectively used in the fabrication of separation membranes. This review tries to provide a comprehensive review and discussion on the electrospraying technique potential in the fabrication of different types of membranes. It highlights the key factors that affect the electrospraying in the preparation of membranes. This technique is used for the synthesis of both polymeric and ceramic membranes and could deposit polymeric, ceramic or nanoparticle layers on suitable support with uniform distribution to prepare membranes for gas and liquid filtration. The resulted membranes by electrospraying due to thinner skin layer have usually high performance related to the membranes fabricated by the conventional techniques. Furthermore, the current restrictions and opportunities for future research are highlighted.