Surface and interface engineering
provides a powerful tool to tailor
the structures and properties of polymer membranes, sharpening their
applications in sustainable development. Tremendous progress has been
achieved in this field over the past 20 years. In this Perspective,
we overview the conventional and emerging strategies for membrane
surface engineering and present the current trends in surface and
interface engineering for both porous and thin-film composite membranes.
For porous membranes, the rise of Janus membranes motivates the evolution
from uniform functionalization to asymmetric performance construction.
For thin-film composite membranes, the research foci are moving to
the surface modification of substrates, the fabrication of nanostructured
interlayers, and especially the regulation of interfacial polymerization.