Research on membrane technologies has grown exponentially to treat wastewater, recycle polluted water and provide more freshwater. Electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENMs) exhibit great potential to be applied in membrane processes due to their distinctive features such as high porosity of up to 90% and large specific surface area. Compared with other nanofiber fabrication techniques, electrospinning is capable of developing unique architectures of nanofibrous scaffolds by designing special assemblies, and it is facile in functionalizing nanofibers by incorporating multi-functional materials. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art progress on fabrication and modification of electrospun polymeric membranes with a particular emphasis on their advances, challenges and future improvement in water treatment applications. First, we briefly describe the complex process governing electrospinning, illustrate the effects of intrinsic properties of polymer solutions, operational parameters and surrounding environment conditions on the formation of nanofibers and resultant nanofibrous membranes, and summarize various designs of electrospinning apparatus. That is followed by reviewing the methods to prepare multifunctional composite ENMs, assorted into three categories, including modification in nanofibers, loading target molecules onto nanofibers surface, and implementing selective layers on the ENM surface. Comprehensive discussion about past achievements and current challenges regarding utilization of composite ENMs in water treatment are then provided. Finally, conclusions and perspective are stated according to reviewed progress to date.

膜技术的研究呈指数增长，用于处理废水，循环利用污水并提供更多的淡水。电纺纳米纤维膜（ENMs）具有独特的功能，例如高达90％的高孔隙率和大的比表面积，因此在膜工艺中显示出巨大的潜力。与其他纳米纤维制造技术相比，静电纺丝能够通过设计特殊组件来开发纳米纤维支架的独特体系结构，并且易于通过整合多功能材料来使纳米纤维功能化。这篇综述总结了电纺聚合物膜的制造和改性方面的最新进展，特别强调了它们在水处理应用中的进步，挑战和未来的改进。第一的，我们简要描述了控制静电纺丝的复杂过程，阐明了聚合物溶液的内在特性，操作参数和周围环境条件对纳米纤维和所得纳米纤维膜形成的影响，并总结了静电纺丝设备的各种设计。随后，回顾了制备多功能复合材料ENM的方法，该方法分为三类，包括纳米纤维的改性，将目标分子加载到纳米纤维表面上以及在ENM表面上实现选择性层。然后提供了有关在水处理中使用复合ENM的过去成就和当前挑战的全面讨论。最后，根据迄今审查的进展陈述结论和观点。