Study of the Transport of Multivalent Metal Cations through Cation-Exchange Membranes by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

In the present work, Electrochemical Impedance
Spectrocopy (EIS) is applied to study the transport of different metal
cations through a cation-exchange membrane. This technique enables
the identification of the ionic-transport characteristics and to
distinguish between different transport mechanisms occurring at
different current density ranges. The impedance spectra are
dependent on the applied dc current density, on the type of cation and
on the concentration.
When the applied dc current density increases, the diameter of the
impedance spectra loops increases because all the components of
membrane system resistance increase. The diameter of the impedance
plots decreases in the order of Na(I), Ni(II) and Cr(III) due to the
increased interactions between the negatively charged sulfonic
groups of the membrane and the cations with greater charge. Nyquist
plots are shifted towards lower values of the real impedance, and its
diameter decreases with the increase of concentration due to the
decrease of the solution resistance.

• V. Pérez-Herranz
• M. Pinel
• E. M. Ortega
• M. García-Gabaldón

• Ion-exchange Membranes
• Electrochemical Impedance Espectroscopy
• Multivalent Metal Cations.

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