Recent applications of nanomaterials in water desalination: A critical review and future opportunities

• Recent advancements of nanomaterials in water desalination are reviewed.
• Improvements in the last decade have resulted to very high water fluxes.
• Fabrication of nanomaterials minimizes energy requirement and environmental impact.
• Commercialization of membrane desalination using nanomaterials remains questionable.

Given their unique structural and morphological features, nanomaterials have gained considerable attention for their applications in membrane desalination. Recent advances in nanomaterial-incorporated membranes have resulted in membranes with very high water flux and salt rejection, both being sought after in membrane desalination. Nevertheless, the economic feasibility of scaling up such membranes remains questionable. The present paper surveyed the recent published literatures and current studies on nanomaterials and their applications in membrane desalination. The goal of this work was to reveal, through reviewing experimental and computational studies, the potential of nanomaterials in desalination. The paper reviewed three of the most studied nanomaterials in membrane desalination namely; carbon nanotubes, zeolites, and graphene. The investigation included preparation and synthesis of nanomaterial membranes, their properties with respect to desalination, and their applications in membrane desalination. This includes different membrane processes, and opportunities and challenges of those materials in desalination applications. The environmental and economic sustainability of nanomaterials in desalination for future prospects has also been presented.