Self-assembled membranes are of vital importance in biological systems e.g. cellular and organelle membranes, however, more focus is being put on synthetic self-assembled membranes not only as an alternative for lipid membranes but also as an alternative for lithographic methods. More investigations move towards self-assembly processes because of the low-cost preparations, structural self-regulation and the ease of creating composite materials and tunable properties. The fabrication of new smart membrane materials via self-assembly is of interest for delivery vessels, size selective separation and purification, controlled-release materials, sensors and catalysts, scaffolds for tissue engineering, low dielectric constant materials for microelectronic devices, antireflective coatings and proton exchange membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Polymers and nanoparticles offer the most straightforward approaches to create membrane structures. However, alternative approaches using small molecules or composite materials offer novel ultra-thin membranes or multi-functional membranes, respectively. Especially, the composite material membranes are regarded as highly promising since they offer the possibility to combine properties of different systems. The advantages of polymers which provide elastic and flexible yet stable matrices can be combined with nanoparticles being either inorganic, organic or even protein-based which offers pore-size control, catalytic activity or permeation regulation. It is therefore believed that at the interface of different disciplines with each offering different materials or approaches, the most novel and interesting membrane structures are going to be produced. The combinations and approaches presented in this review offer non-conventional self-assembled membrane materials which exhibit a high potential to advance membrane science and find more practical applications.

We report a combined directing effect of the simultaneously applied graphoepitaxy and electric field on the self-assembly of cylinder forming polystyrene-b-poly­(dimethylsiloxane) block copolymer in thin films. A correlation length of up to 20 μm of uniaxial ordered striped patterns is an order of magnitude greater than that produced by either graphoepitaxy or electric field alignment alone and is achieved at reduced annealing times. The angle between the electric field direction and the topographic guides as well as the dimensions of the trenches affected both the quality of the ordering and the direction of the orientation of cylindrical domains: parallel or perpendicular to the topographic features. We quantified the interplay between the electric field and the geometry of the topographic structures by constructing the phase diagram of microdomain orientation. This combined approach allows the fabrication of highly ordered block copolymer structures using macroscopically prepatterned photolithographic substrates.

Self‐assembled membranes offer a promising alternative for conventional membrane fabrication, especially in the field of ultrafiltration. Here, a new pore‐making strategy is introduced involving stimuli responsive protein‐polymer conjugates self‐assembled across a large surface area using drying‐mediated interfacial self‐assembly. The membrane is flexible and assembled on porous supports. The protein used is the cage protein ferritin and resides within the polymer matrix. Upon denaturation of ferritin, a pore is formed which intrinsically is determined by the size of the protein and how it resides in the matrix. Due to the self‐assembly at interfaces, the membrane constitutes of only one layer resulting in a membrane thickness of 7 nm on average in the dry state. The membrane is stable up to at least 50 mbar transmembrane pressure, operating at a flux of about 21 000–25 000 L m−2 h−1 bar−1 and displayed a preferred size selectivity of particles below 20 nm. This approach diversifies membrane technology generating a platform for “smart” self‐assembled membranes.