Novel proton-conducting polymer inclusion membranes

A study of the ammonium ion extraction properties of polymer inclusion membranes containing commercial dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid

“…The use of DNNS from Aldrich has been reported in the preparation of PIMs with CTA as the base polymer and 2-nitrophenylpentylether (NPPE) [4,5], NPOE or tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate (TBEP) [6] as plasticizers. However, in those studies, no mention is made of the purity of the reagent and it was used as received from the supplier.…”

“…Both provide membranes with a high mechanical strength. DNNSbased membranes have been prepared in earlier studies using CTA [4][5][6] or PVC [6] as the base polymers, although an extensive screening of various CTA and PVC-based PIM compositions containing DNNS has not yet been described and moreover little is known about the performance of the PVC-based membranes.…”

“…Nevertheless, Ocampo et al [6] have reported PIMs with 71 wt% commercial DNNS from Aldrich (0.25 g) and 29 wt% CTA (0.1 g) as successful, which suggests that commercial DNNS from different suppliers and with different diluents might significantly affect the membrane homogeneity. The fact that n-heptane, present in DNNS supplied by Aldrich, is non-polar and 2-butoxyethanol, present in DNNS supplied by SCB or King Industries, is polar might lead to differences in the extraction characteristics of the corresponding PIMs [15].…”

“…Dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (DNNS), used as a commercial sulfonic acid-based extractant that facilitates the transport of cations ( Fig. 1) [4][5][6][7], was chosen as the PIM carrier in the present study. DNNS has the ability to bind with the species of interest (viz.…”

“…1. DNNS has been applied as the carrier in PIMs either for the competitive transport of Cs-137, Sr-90 and Co-60 radioisotopes using CTA-based PIMs plasticized with 2-nitrophenyl pentyl ether [4,5] or for proton conduction using membranes containing CTA or PVC as the base polymer, plasticized with tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate or 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (NPOE) [6]. To improve the proton conductivity of DNNS-based PIMs containing CTA as the base polymer, hybrid organic-inorganic membranes have been synthesized and characterized by Monroy Barreto et al [7].…”