On-line extractive separation in flow injection analysis based on polymer inclusion membranes: A study on membrane stability and approaches for improving membrane permeability

Abstract

The effect of temperature on the sensitivity and sampling rate is studied for a flow injection analysis (FIA) system that uses a membrane separation cell fitted with a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) for the determination of Zn(II). A temperature of 50 °C for the flowing donor and acceptor solutions and the membrane separation cell improves the sensitivity and the sampling rate relative to 20 °C up to 10-fold and 2-fold, respectively. Studies on the stability of the PIM are reported that show a limited loss of the membrane liquid phase into the aqueous phases used in the FIA system but this has exhibited a negligible effect on the amount of Zn(II) transported across the membrane. Most impor..