Journal article

The potential of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene triblock co-polymer as a base-polymer of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs)

X Xiong, MIGS Almeida, S Simeonova, TG Spassov, RW Cattrall, SD Kolev

Separation and Purification Technology | ELSEVIER | Published : 2019

Abstract

The use of polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-polystyrene triblock co-polymer (SBS) as the base-polymer of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) is studied for the first time. SBS is an inexpensive and accessible thermoplastic elastomer which possesses the required properties to be used as a base-polymer in PIMs, namely mechanical strength and high resistance to acids/bases. Its compatibility with commonly used extractants in PIMs was assessed and it was observed that successful PIMs could be obtained when di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA), LIX84I or tri-n-octylamine (TOA) were used as the extractants. The performance of these PIMs was investigated for the extraction of Zn(II), Cu(II)..

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University of Melbourne Researchers