A critical review on electrospun membranes containing 2D materials for seawater desalination

Electrospun nanofibers are a cutting-edge class of membranes which have been applied in several molecular separations. These membranes can be well designed and tailored due to the versatility of the electrospinning process. Eminently, electrospun membranes, once implemented in membrane processes, are an alternative in removing salts and some other minerals from water, so-called desalination, for producing drinking water. Such membranes present unique properties over traditional membranes, such as outstanding performance thanks to the high porosity, adjustable pore size, and functionalized surface of the nanofibrous. Today, electrospun membranes are denominated as a "hot" topic in research for desalination purposes in which mainly polymer phases are used in membrane fabrication, however, a current trend deals with the doping of such polymer phases with two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, graphene oxide, MXene, boron and carbon nitrides, among others. Apart from their extraordinary physical and chemical properties, these latter materials exhibited unprecedented water transport rates, making them suitable for preparing more attractive membranes for desa-lination. Therefore, the aim of this comprehensive review is to reveal the latest advances in electrospun membranes containing 2D materials. Particular emphasis has been devoted to the reports published over the last two years, from 2020 up to now. In this review, apart from reporting the breakthroughs in membrane preparation and their desalination performance data, the main advantages and drawbacks of the developed membranes are elucidated. Finally, after analysing the recent literature, tentative research gaps and recommendations to the new re-searchers in the field are also stated.