Abstract
Efforts toward the denovo design of artificial water channels have been made over the last decades to understand the selectivity of water transport through membranes and their applications in water purification and desalination. Currently, many insights are needed to elucidate the complex selective water vs ion/proton transport mechanism through Å-scaled artificial water channels. Generally, a narrow pore is required for driving off large ions or solutes and selectively allowing only water molecules to enter then forming an uninterrupted single wire or clusters within pore confined conditions. Several classes of artificial water channels, including self-assembled channels, organic cages, carbon-based nanopores, aromatic foldamers, pillar[n]arenes, and macrocycles have been systematically outlined in this review in terms of their structural properties and transport mechanism. Additionally, molecular simulation analysis can be applied to verify the spatial atomic distribution of channels, importantly it enables to reveal a deep understanding of the arrangement of water molecules within these pores. Herein, this review will introduce the recent achievements in artificial water channels listing how the astonishing examples operate in the presence of water molecules, and it may arouse more inspiring views for the continued research in the field of water selective channel-forming assemblies and their application in the field of membranes for water purification.