Study of effect of two sulfonating agents on electrochemical properties of surface-modified polyethersulfone membrane

The work deals with the selection of sulfonating agent and preparation of polymeric coating on membrane step by step. The surface modification of a commercial ultrafiltration polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was covalently attached to the poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene-co-4-vinylbenzylchloride). The whole process was tracked step by step using analytical methods. Chlorosulfonic acid and trimethylsilyl chlorosulfonate were tested as sulfonating agents. Ion-exchange capacity (IEC), water content, specific resistance, and permselectivity were measured and scanning electron microscope analyzed the surface of the cation exchange membrane. The best results were achieved using 5 wt % chlorosulfonic acid as sulfonating agent. IEC reached values of up to 2.44 meq g⁻¹ of dry matter, permselectivity of 93.6%, area resistances of 10.1 Ω cm², and specific resistance around 299 Ω cm. The prepared cation exchange PES membrane with chlorosulfonic acid can be used in electrochemical processes, for example, in electrodialysis. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48826.