--- name: journal-of-membrane-science description: Use when targeting Journal of Membrane Science or deciding whether a membranes / membrane-process manuscript fits this venue. Encodes the journal's fit, the transport-and-separation-mechanism bar, membrane characterization rigor, house style, the mechanism-vs-application routing, official-submission re-check, and desk-reject heuristics. --- # 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 ```text [Fit] High / Medium / Low (one-line reason) [Target] Journal of Membrane Science [Topic tags] <2–3 closest membrane subtopics> [Mechanism] [Performance] [Stability/fouling] [Top risk] [Official items to re-check]
[Re-route suggestion] ```