Journal of Membrane Science (journal-of-membrane-science)

Journal positioning

Journal of Membrane Science (Elsevier) is the leading archival venue for membranes and membrane processes: membrane materials and formation, the mechanisms of transport and separation, separation performance, fouling, and applications in water, gas, energy, and bio. Its defining expectation is that the membrane and its transport/separation mechanism are central — a paper must explain how the membrane structure governs permeation and selectivity, not merely report that a new membrane separated something. Studies that use a commercial membrane as a black box to treat a feed, or that report a permeance number without structure–transport understanding, are a weak fit. This skill is a fit / venue-selection / re-framing tool. It does not replace the journal's current official author guidelines. Before submitting, re-check the live Journal of Membrane Science Guide for Authors on the Elsevier site.

When to trigger

• The author names Journal of Membrane Science for a membrane-material, transport, separation, or fouling manuscript and wants a fit/framing check.
• A paper must be re-framed from "we used a membrane to separate X" into a structure–transport–separation mechanism story.
• The author is deciding between this journal and an applied process venue (chemical-engineering-journal) or a fundamentals venue (aiche-journal).
• The author needs the journal's transport-mechanism and characterization rigor bar and desk-reject heuristics.

Scope & topic fit

• Membrane materials and formation: polymeric, inorganic, mixed-matrix, and composite membranes; phase inversion, interfacial polymerization, and fabrication structure–property control.
• Transport mechanisms: solution–diffusion, pore-flow, facilitated and ion transport; the link between membrane structure/chemistry and permeability and selectivity.
• Separation performance and process: reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, gas separation, pervaporation, membrane distillation, electrodialysis.
• Fouling, wetting, aging, and long-term stability with mechanistic analysis and mitigation strategies.
• Membranes for energy and bio applications (fuel-cell/electrolyzer/redox-flow membranes, bioseparations) when the membrane transport science is central.

Method & evidence bar

• The central claim is a transport/separation mechanism: how membrane structure and chemistry set permeability, selectivity, or fouling resistance — supported by data, not asserted.
• Permeation and selectivity must be reported with the membrane thickness/area, driving force, and conditions made explicit, and benchmarked against the relevant trade-off (e.g., permeability–selectivity) and prior membranes.
• Membrane characterization must be appropriate and quantitative: morphology (cross-section, surface), chemistry, porosity/free volume, and stability, with sampling and reproducibility reported.
• Fouling/stability claims require realistic feeds and durations, with the fouling mechanism analyzed rather than only a flux-decline curve shown.
• Performance must be compared to the correct membrane baseline under equivalent conditions; normalized, reproducible metrics are expected.

Structure & house style

• Standard research-article structure (introduction, materials/methods, results, discussion); the journal uses highlights and a graphical abstract — re-check current article types and requirements on the live guide.
• The introduction frames the membrane/transport gap and the separation challenge; the discussion makes the structure–transport–performance argument explicit.
• Figures are load-bearing: cross-section morphology, permeation/selectivity plots against the relevant trade-off line, and fouling/stability data with controls.
• Supporting information carries full fabrication protocols, extended characterization, and long-term data; main-text figures must support the transport claim on their own.

Official-submission checklist

• Before giving submission-ready advice, read ../../resources/source-basis.md and ../../resources/official-source-map.md; start from the Elsevier anchors, then cite the current Journal of Membrane Science Guide for Authors page you checked.
• Search the live site for "Journal of Membrane Science guide for authors" and follow the current Elsevier/Editorial Manager version.
• Re-check article types, highlights and graphical-abstract requirements, and reporting conventions for permeation/selectivity (units, normalization).
• Confirm data-availability and any expectation to report membrane thickness, area, and test conditions for reproducibility.
• Re-check competing-interests, funding, author-contribution (CRediT), and AI-use disclosure requirements.
• If the live official instructions conflict with this skill, the official instructions win.

Pre-submission self-check

• The membrane and its transport/separation mechanism are the central contribution, not a black-box separation result.
• Permeability/selectivity are reported with thickness, area, driving force, and conditions, and benchmarked against the trade-off line.
• Membrane characterization (morphology, chemistry, porosity/stability) is quantitative and reproducible.
• Fouling/stability claims use realistic feeds and durations with the mechanism analyzed.
• Performance is compared to the correct prior membrane under equivalent conditions.
• Highlights and graphical abstract represent the transport/separation advance.

Common desk-reject triggers

• Using a commercial/black-box membrane to treat a feed with no membrane-science contribution.
• Permeance/flux numbers reported without thickness, area, conditions, or trade-off benchmarking.
• New membrane with a separation number but no structure–transport mechanism.
• Fouling shown only as a flux-decline curve, with no mechanism or realistic feed.
• Performance compared to a strawman or under non-equivalent conditions.
• Application/process paper where the membrane transport science is incidental.

Re-routing decision

• Applied water/energy process where the process, not the membrane, is the advance → chemical-engineering-journal.
• Fundamental transport/thermodynamics generalizing beyond membranes → aiche-journal.
• Systems-level energy/desalination assessment → applied-energy.
• Ion-exchange membranes framed as a battery/cell device advance → journal-of-power-sources.
• Water-treatment work with environmental-science framing → environmental-science-and-technology.

Output format

[Fit] High / Medium / Low (one-line reason)
[Target] Journal of Membrane Science
[Topic tags] <2–3 closest membrane subtopics>
[Mechanism] <the structure–transport–separation claim in one line>
[Performance] <permeability/selectivity vs trade-off + conditions stated?>
[Stability/fouling] <realistic-feed + mechanism evidence present?>
[Top risk] <the single most likely reason for rejection>
[Official items to re-check] <article type / highlights / units-normalization / data policy / disclosures>
[Re-route suggestion] <if not a fit, a better-matched venue>