Application of a macrocyclic compound, bambus[6]uril, in tailor-made liquid membranes for highly selective electromembrane extractions of inorganic anions

•Highly selective liquid membrane is proposed for EMEs of specific inorganic anions.•Selectivity is obtained by modifying liquid membranes with a macrocyclic compound BU6.•EME selectivity is directly proportional to association constants between BU6 and anions.•Efficient EMEs of target anions are achieved at up to 100.000-fold excess of matrix anions.•Sub-μM to μM concentrations of ClO4− and Br− are extracted from tap and sea water.

A tailor-made liquid membrane consisting of a resistive organic solvent (nitrobenzene, NB) and a highly selective non-ionic macrocyclic compound (bambus[6]uril, BU6) was employed for electromembrane extraction (EME) of inorganic anions. BU6 facilitates strong host-guest interactions of its internal cavity with selected inorganic anions only and its presence in the liquid membrane ensured excellent selectivity of the EME process. EME transfers were directly related to association constants between BU6 and inorganic anions and nearly absolute selectivity was achieved for EMEs of iodide, bromide and perchlorate. Major inorganic anions (chloride, nitrate, sulphate and carbonate), which exhibit low interactions with BU6 cavity, were efficiently eliminated from the EME transfer. No interferences were observed for EMEs of target analytes from samples containing up to 100.000-fold higher concentrations of the major anions. Addition of species-specific macrocyclic modifiers to free and supported liquid membranes might thus open new directions in fine-tuning of EME selectivity. At optimized EME conditions (polypropylene hollow fiber impregnated with NB + 3% (w/w) BU6, extraction voltage 25 V, extraction time 15 min, deionized water as acceptor solution) perchlorate was selectively extracted from tap water at concentrations below the guideline value recommended by United States Environmental Protection Agency. Excellent selectivity of the tailor-made liquid membrane was further demonstrated by EME of bromide from sea water.

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