Preparation, characterization and thermal degradation studies of bi-functional cation-exchange membranes

•Preparation of cross-linked bi-functionalized copolymer by radical polymerization•Cation-exchange membrane showed high bound water content.•Study on trade-off behavior between membrane stabilities and conductivity•Thermal stable cation-exchange membrane for electrodialysis

Cross-linked divinylbenzene (DVB) based bi-functional copolymer (BFC) was synthesized using acrylic acid and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) by free radical copolymerisation reaction. Simple solution casting technique was used to fabricate the bi-functional cation-exchange membranes using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as plasticizer. To deliberate the structural and morphological analyses and asses the density of functional groups, state of water, and conductivity of developed membranes, physicochemical characterizations were carried out. Well optimized PVA/BFC-70 membrane showed high bound water content (3.60%) with high membrane conductivity (3.67 × 10− 2 S cm− 1) and ion-exchange capacity (1.30 mequiv g− 1). The reported CEM, especially PVA/BFC-70, was assessed for the electrochemical applications.

Graphical abstractThermal stable bi-functionalized CEM with high bound water content by radical polymerization/cross-linking for electrodialysis.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide