Effect of aliquat 336 in PVDF-Co-HFP polymer inclusion membrane for silver ion removal

Membranes have gained an important place in chemical technology and are used in a broad range of applications. The key property that is exploited is the ability of a membrane to control the permeation rate of a chemical species through the membrane. Nowadays, Polymer Inclusion Membranes (PIMs) have gained a lot of interest due to their better stability, potential for selective separation and their possible use in a variety of applications. In this study, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene) (PVDF-Co-HFP) based polymer with different concentrations of Aliquat 336 as the membrane carrier, were studied for their ability to extract silver ions from aqueous solutions. The fabricated PIMs were characterized in term of functional group using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, thickness, porosity and water uptake. The performances of fabricated PIMs were evaluated by determining the removal of silver ion from the aqueous phase. From this study, it was found that M4 with 45% of Aliquat 336 in 50 mg/L of initial concentration of silver ions for 8 hours at room temperature has shown the highest percentage of silver ion removal.