Yee Rebecca S L, Zhang Kaisong, Ladewig Bradley P
Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3800, Australia.
Institute of Urban Environments, Chinese Academy of Science, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen 361021, China.
Membranes (Basel). 2013 Aug 13;3(3):182-95. doi: 10.3390/membranes3030182.
A low cost cation exchange membrane to be used in a specific bioelectrochemical system has been developed using poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK). This material is presented as an alternative to current commercial ion exchange membranes that have been primarily designed for fuel cell applications. To increase the hydrophilicity and ion transport of the PEEK material, charged groups are introduced through sulfonation. The effect of sulfonation and casting conditions on membrane performance has been systematically determined by producing a series of membranes synthesized over an array of reaction and casting conditions. Optimal reaction and casting conditions for producing SPEEK ion exchange membranes with appropriate performance characteristics have been established by this uniquely systematic experimental series. Membrane materials were characterized by ion exchange capacity, water uptake, swelling, potential difference and NMR analysis. Testing this extensive membranes series established that the most appropriate sulfonation conditions were 60 °C for 6 h. For mechanical stability and ease of handling, SPEEK membranes cast from solvent casting concentrations of 15%-25% with a resulting thickness of 30-50 µm were also found to be most suitable from the series of tested casting conditions. Drying conditions did not have any apparent impact on the measured parameters in this study. The conductivity of SPEEK membranes was found to be in the range of 10-3 S cm-1, which is suitable for use as a low cost membrane in the intended bioelectrochemical systems.
一种用于特定生物电化学系统的低成本阳离子交换膜已采用聚醚醚酮（PEEK）研制而成。这种材料是目前主要为燃料电池应用设计的商用离子交换膜的替代品。为提高PEEK材料的亲水性和离子传输能力，通过磺化引入带电基团。通过在一系列反应和浇铸条件下制备一系列膜，系统地确定了磺化和浇铸条件对膜性能的影响。通过这个独特的系统实验系列，确定了制备具有适当性能特征的磺化聚醚醚酮（SPEEK）离子交换膜的最佳反应和浇铸条件。通过离子交换容量、吸水率、溶胀率、电位差和核磁共振分析对膜材料进行了表征。对这一系列广泛的膜进行测试后确定，最合适的磺化条件是60℃反应6小时。从一系列测试的浇铸条件来看，对于机械稳定性和易于处理而言，由浓度为15%-25%的溶剂浇铸而成、厚度为30-50μm的SPEEK膜也是最合适的。在本研究中，干燥条件对所测参数没有任何明显影响。发现SPEEK膜的电导率在10-3 S cm-1范围内，适合在预期的生物电化学系统中用作低成本膜。
