Improving fluxes of polyimide membranes containing gold nanoparticles by photothermal heating

► Gold nanoparticles built into polyimide membranes enable photothermal heating ► Laser irradiation was achieved during filtrations in an adapted filtration cell ► Membrane permeances were increased during laser irradiation ► Increased permeances were realized without lowering rejections ► Effect on permeance was stronger for membranes with an intrinsically lower flux.