Investigation and characterization of PVA-g-AAc/Zol membranes for possible practical use in separation processes

Poly(vinyl alcohol) films were grafted with two monomers (acrylic acid and N-vinyl imidazole) using the gamma irradiation technique. The melting temperature (Tm) and glass transition temperature (Tg) of the grafted membranes were determined with respect to the grafting yield. The ability of these membranes to separate cobalt from nickel has been investigated. The diffusion of cobalt and nickel ions from the feed compartment to the receiver compartment depends on the grafting yield and the pH of the feed solution. Cobalt ions do not diffuse through the membrane when the pH of the feed solution is >4.5. Thus, the prepared membranes could be considered for the separation of cobalt ions from nickel ions. The temperature of thermal decomposition of pure PVA-g-AAc/Zol membrane, PVA-g-AAc/Zol membranes containing cobalt ions, and PVA-g-AAc/Zol membranes containing nickel ions are determined using TGA analyzer; it was shown that the presence of cobalt and nickel increases the decomposition temperature. Also the membranes bonded with cobalt ions are more stable than the membranes containing nickel ions.