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    Insights into Free Volume Variations across Ion-Exchange Membranes upon Mixed Solvents Uptake by Small and Ultrasmall Angle Neutron Scattering

    Year: 2017

    Journal: ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Volume 9, nov-15, page 8704–8713

    Authors: Allioux, Francois-Marie; Garvey, Christopher J.; Rehm, Christine; Tardy, Blaise L.; Dagastine, Raymond Riley; Hodgson, Peter D.; Kong, Lingxue; Dumee, Ludovic Francis

    Organizations: AINSE Ltd [30290]; Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia; Deakin University

    Keywords: small-angle neutron scattering; electrodialysis; ion-exchange membranes; ionic clusters swelling; liquid AFM nanoindentation

    Ion-exchange membranes are composite separation materials increasingly used in a variety of electromembranes and electrochemical processes. Although promising for solvent reclamation, to date, their main applications are limited to aqueous environments due to physicochemical and microstructural changes of the materials upon exposure to nonaqueous and mixed solvents solutions, affecting long-term stability and separation performance. In the present work, the structural changes of commercial and novel hybrid. ion exchange membranes in mixed methanol/water and ethanol/ water solutions are assessed for the first time using ultra-and small-angle neutron scattering techniques. The interface between the ion-exchange functional layer and the mechanical support of the membranes is evaluated in the ultralow-q region, while a broad solvent-dependent peak at the mid-q region was correlated to the microstructural properties which are related to the free volume across the ion-exchange domains and to the materials electrical and nanoscale mechanical properties. The results of this study may offer new opportunities toward the development of an efficient separation process using ion-exchange membranes for the purification of fermentation broths toward biofuel generation.
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