Cation-exchange membranes by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of monomers onto HDPE

Studies were made on preparation of the cation-exchange membranes obtained by pre-irradiation grafting of acrylic acid (AA) and sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) onto high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and its properties such as swelling behavior and electric resistance were measured as a function of ion-exchange capacity (IEC). Thermal and chemical stability was also investigated. These properties were found to be mainly dependent on IEC. The grafted membranes possessed good electrochemical, thermal and chemical properties, and were found to be acceptable for practical use as cation-exchange membranes.