Synthesis of polyketone-g-sodium styrene sulfonate cation exchange membrane via irradiation and its desalination properties

Abstract

Using the radiation grafting technique, polyketone membranes were graft copolymerized with sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) in the presence of additives such as Mohr’s salt and H2SO4. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the grafted membranes. Water uptake (WU), ion exchange capacity (IEC) and electrical resistance (ER) of the prepared membranes were measured in order to evaluate their physical properties The prepared membranes were applied to the membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) process, in which their salt removal rates were evaluated and compared to those of CDI (capacitive deionization) process. The degree of grafting rose from 14.4% to 81.4% as the irradiation dose and the monomer concentration were increased. The water uptake ranged from 7.9% to 34.2%. The ionexchange capacity was observed between 0.43 meq/g and 1.1 meq/g, and the electrical resistance had values ranging from 12.2 Ω·cm2 to 2.1 Ω·cm2. The electrical resistance decreased as the ion-exchange capacity was extended. When the prepared cation exchange membrane was used in the MCDI process, the salt removal rate reached 87.6%, which was much higher than 28.8% of CDI process. Open image in new window