Preparation and characterization of LDPE/polyvinylbenzyl trimethyl ammonium salts anion-exchange membrane

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/polyvinylbenzyl trimethyl ammonium salts (PVBTMA) anion-exchange membranes were prepared by a monomer-sorption method and UV radiation polymerization. Morphology of the membrane was controlled by variation of monomer composition. FT-IR–ATR/TR and DSC analyses were carried out for the membranes prepared. Due to swelling effect of styrene in LDPE network, the increasing styrene content in monomer solution led to formation of homogeneous membrane. The membranes were also characterized in terms of electrochemical properties, i.e. ion-exchange capacity (IEC), membrane electrical resistance (MER), transport number (t−), current–voltage (I–V) and chronopotentiometric curves. The permselectivity and MER of the membrane were depending strongly on the surface-homogeneity and the cross-sectional homogeneity, respectively.