Study of Mixed Membrane Potential with Surface Modified Cellulose Acetate Nanofilter

Abstract

:Cellulose acetate (CA) membranes prepared by wet phase inversion technique were subjected to deposition of multilayer of Cu2 [Fe (CN)6] of different molar concentration (0.1m, 0.01m, 0.001m) by using the solution of potassium ferro cyanide and copper sulphate on the surface of CA membrane by alternate changing the two solutions in a special glass cell. This surface modification converted the CA membrane into nanofilters of more gelatinous texture and exact semipermeability. Electrochemical characterization of nanofilters has been attempted by calculating the values of transport number, fixed charge density and permselectivity using the data of mixed membrane potential across normal and surface modified membranes with electrolytic solutions of NaCl and KCl. The results showed that the presence of additional electrolyte, even of the same concentration on the both sides of membrane, significantly influences electrochemical character of nanofilter. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the prepared nanofilter showed the resembling morphology and nanoporous surface texture of nanofilters with the deposition of multi electrolytic layers. The study successfully demonstrated the effect of simultaneous multi-ion transport across the nanofilters to pave mile stone of its applicability in selective recognition and filtration aspects.