The invention relates to the use of silane-modified polyvinyl alcohols for producing membranes, characterized in that the silane-modified polyvinyl alcohols can be obtained by a) radically initiated copolymerization of one or more vinyl esters from unbranched or branched carboxylic acids having 1 to 15 C-atoms and one or more ethylenically unsaturated silane compounds selected from the group comprising compounds of the general formulae CR2=CR—B—Si(OR′)3-n(R″)n (1), or CR2=CRC(═O)-D-B—Si(OR′)3-n(R″)n (2), wherein B is an aryl, heteroaryl or (CR2) m residue, wherein one or more non-neighboring CR2 groups can be replaced by heteroatoms as applicable, D is a heteroatom, R is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl or aryl residue or a heteroatom that is substituted as applicable by a hydrogen atom or an alkyl, aryl residue, OR is an alkoxy, alkylcarboxy or arylcarboxy residue, R″ is an alkyl or aryl residue and n 0, 1 or 2 and in 0 to 15, and b) subsequent saponification of the silane-modified vinyl ester copolymerizate obtained in step a).