Preparation and Electrochemical Characterization of Membranes Using Submicron Sized Particles with High Ion Exchange Capacity for Electro-Adsorptive Deionization

Abstract

In this study, cation and anion exchange composite membranes were prepared using a modified poly(styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene) rubbery tri-block copolymer (SEBS) and polystyrene (PS) nano particles. The modification processes were sulfonation and amination via chloromethylation, respectively. The cation and anion exchange composite membranes were then prepared by solvent casting and evaporation using modified SEBS and PS particles. After preparing the composite membranes, characterization was performed via FT-IR, NMR and DMA. In addition, the electrochemical characteristics of the composite membranes, such as electrical resistance, ion conductivity and I-V curve, were measured and compared. Consequently, the electrochemical properties of the composite membranes were relative to the contents of the particles due to the ion exchange properties of the particles. However, the mechanical property of the composite membranes was inversely proportional to the contents of the particles.