Abstract
Polymeric reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are widely used for practical desalination processes. They are promised ways to separate water molecules from feed solutions effectively, although they have already reached a limitation in improvement of water permeability. On biological cell membranes, some kinds of water channel molecules, such as membrane proteins and peptides, effectively and selectively transport water molecules through lipid bilayers, while lipid bilayers prevent the permeation of various molecules through the membrane. Recently, biomimetic approaches using biological water channel, aquaporin, have attracted attentions to fabricate highly water–permeable RO membranes. In this report, the recent progress of the development of biomimetic RO membranes was summarized.
