Diffusion-Bubbling Membranes: Thermodynamics and Mass Transport. A Review

Bubbles are widely used in modern technologies from the synthesis of nanomaterials (ultrasonic sonochemistry and pulsed laser ablation in liquids) to solar geoengineering (global warming inhibition) and biomedicine (drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier). IMET RAS is developing conceptually new diffusion-bubbling membranes with combined mass transport and theoretically infinite selectivity, in which bubbles act as oxygen carriers. This review covers the latest experimental and theoretical results of studying the mass transport, nucleation, and dynamics of oxygen bubbles in innovative bubble-diffusion membranes with a core-shell structure. Directions for further research are indicated. A high potential of diffusion-bubbling membranes for efficient oxygen separation from air is noted.