The global disruptions to standard operations that are occurring due to changing climate conditions, changing rainfall patterns, and increased human population will continue to stress the world’s freshwater supplies. This is predicted to result in half of the population facing freshwater shortages by 2030. Because only about 3% of all water on Earth is suitable for human consumption and the oceans contain 97% of the Earth’s water, energy-efficient desalinization (salt separation) technologies are crucial for maintaining society’s quality of life. Reverse osmosis (RO) is currently the most employed and reliable method for water desalinization; however, improvements in process efficiency are needed to make it a more sustainable treatment option. These improvements center on the physical and chemical characteristics of the membrane materials and membrane modules to address issues related to salt selectivity, water permeability, and chemical tolerance. This project will produce new generations of membrane materials that could possibly be more stable, selective, and energy-efficient than current RO membranes. Moreover, these materials and systems have the potential to be modified for other water purification applications such as the removal of specific contaminants.