Electro-convective versus electroosmotic instability in concentration polarization

How Chemical Nature of Fixed Groups of Anion-Exchange Membranes Affects the Performance of Electrodialysis of Phosphate-Containing Solutions?

Innovative ion exchange membranes have become commercially available in recent years. However, information about their structural and transport characteristics is often extremely insufficient. To address this issue, homogeneous anion exchange membranes with the trade names ASE, CJMA-3 and CJMA-6 have been investigated in Na_xH_(3-x)PO₄ solutions with pH 4.4 ± 0.1, 6.6 and 10.0 ± 0.2, as well as NaCl solutions with pH 5.5 ± 0.1. Using IR spectroscopy and processing the concentration dependences of the electrical conductivity of these membranes in NaCl solutions, it was shown that ASE has a highly cross-linked aromatic matrix and mainly contains quaternary ammonium groups. Other membranes have a less cross-linked aliphatic matrix based on polyvinylidene fluoride (CJMA-3) or polyolefin (CJMA-6) and contain quaternary amines (CJMA-3) or a mixture of strongly basic (quaternary) and weakly basic (secondary) amines (CJMA-6). As expected, in dilute solutions of NaCl, the conductivity of membranes increases with an increase in their ion-exchange capacity: CJMA-6 < CJMA-3 << ASE. Weakly basic amines appear to form bound species with proton-containing phosphoric acid anions. This phenomenon causes a decrease in the electrical conductivity of CJMA-6 membranes compared to other studied membranes in phosphate-containing solutions. In addition, the formation of the neutral and negatively charged bound species suppresses the generation of protons by the "acid dissociation" mechanism. Moreover, when the membrane is operated in overlimiting current modes and/or in alkaline solutions, a bipolar junction is formed at the CJMA- 6/depleted solution interface. The CJMA-6 current-voltage curve becomes similar to the well-known curves for bipolar membranes, and water splitting intensifies in underlimiting and overlimiting modes. As a result, energy consumption for electrodialysis recovery of phosphates from aqueous solutions almost doubles when using the CJMA-6 membrane compared to the CJMA-3 membrane.

Comparison of the Electrodialysis Performance in Tartrate Stabilization of a Red Wine Using Aliphatic and Aromatic Commercial and Modified Ion-Exchange Membranes

The application of electrodialysis for tartrate stabilization and reagent-free acidity correction of wine and juices is attracting increasing interest. New aliphatic membranes CJMC-3 and CJMA-3 and aromatic membranes CSE and ASE were tested to determine their suitability for use in these electrodialysis processes and to evaluate the fouling of these membranes by wine components for a short (6-8 h) operating time. Using IR spectroscopy, optical indication and measurement of surface contact angles, the chemical composition of the studied membranes, as well as some details about their fouling by wine components, was clarified. The current-voltage charsacteristics, conductivity and water-splitting capacity of the membranes before and after electrodialysis were analyzed. We found that in the case of cation-exchange membranes, complexes of anthocyanins with metal ions penetrate into the bulk (CJMC-3) or are localized on the surface (CSE), depending on the degree of crosslinking of the polymer matrix. Adsorption of wine components by the surface of anion-exchange membranes CJMA-3 and ASE causes an increase in water splitting. Despite fouling under identical conditions of electrodialysis, membrane pair CJMC-3 and CJMA-3 provided 18 ± 1 tartrate recovery with 31 · 10^-3 energy consumption, whereas CSE and ASE provided 20 ± 1% tartrate recovery with an energy consumption of 28 · 10^-3 Wh, in addition to reducing the conductivity of wine by 20 ± 1%. The casting of aliphatic polyelectrolyte films on the surface of aromatic membranes reduces fouling with a relatively small increase in energy consumption and approximately the same degree of tartrate recovery compared to pristine CSE and ASE.

Influence of Electroconvection on Chronopotentiograms of an Anion-Exchange Membrane in Solutions of Weak Polybasic Acid Salts

Visualization of electroconvective (EC) vortices at the undulated surface of an AMX anion-exchange membrane (Astom, Osaka, Japan) was carried out in parallel with the measurement of chronopotentiograms. Weak polybasic acid salts, including 0.02 M solutions of tartaric (NaHT), phosphoric (NaH₂PO₄), and citric (NaH₂Cit) acids salts, and NaCl were investigated. It was shown that, for a given current density normalized to the theoretical limiting current calculated by the Leveque equation (i/i_lim^theor), EC vortex zone thickness, d_EC, decreases in the order NaCl > NaHT > NaH₂PO₄ > NaH₂Cit. This order is inverse to the increase in the intensity of proton generation in the membrane systems under study. The higher the intensity of proton generation, the lower the electroconvection. This is due to the fact that protons released into the depleted solution reduce the space charge density, which is the driver of EC. In all studied systems, a region in chronopotentiograms between the rapid growth of the potential drop and the attainment of its stationary values corresponds to the appearance of EC vortex clusters. The amplitude of the potential drop oscillations in the chronopotentiograms is proportional to the size of the observed vortex clusters.

Controllable pH Manipulations in Micro/Nanofluidic Device Using Nanoscale Electrokinetics

Recently introduced nanoscale electrokinetic phenomenon called ion concentration polarization (ICP) has been suffered from serious pH changes to the sample fluid. A number of studies have focused on the origin of pH changes and strategies for regulating it. Instead of avoiding pH changes, in this work, we tried to demonstrate new ways to utilize this inevitable pH change. First, one can obtain a well-defined pH gradient in proton-received microchannel by applying a fixed electric current through a proton exchange membrane. Furthermore, one can tune the pH gradient on demand by adjusting the proton mass transportation (i.e., adjusting electric current). Secondly, we demonstrated that the occurrence of ICP can be examined by sensing a surrounding pH of electrolyte solution. When pH > threshold pH, patterned pH-responsive hydrogel inside a straight microchannel acted as a nanojunction to block the microchannel, while it did as a microjunction when pH < threshold pH. In case of forming a nanojunction, electrical current significantly dropped compared to the case of a microjunction. The strategies that presented in this work would be a basis for useful engineering applications such as a localized pH stimulation to biomolecules using tunable pH gradient generation and portable pH sensor with pH-sensitive hydrogel.

A Limiting Case of Constant Counterion Electrochemical Potentials in the Membrane for Examining Ion Transfer at Ion-Exchange Membranes and Patches

Ion passage through ion-exchange membranes is vital in electrodialysis desalination, batteries and fuel cells, and water splitting. Simplified models of ion transport through such membranes frequently assume complete exclusion of co-ions (ions with the same sign of charge as the fixed charge in the membrane) from the membrane. However, a second assumption of constant counterion electrochemical potentials across the membrane leads to simple analytical expressions for ion fluxes and transmembrane potentials. Moreover, linear corrections to account for a small membrane electrical resistance yield analytical expressions with a wider applicability. For bi-ionic potential measurements and current-induced concentration polarization at low salt concentrations, these analytical solutions match the fluxes and potentials obtained numerically without the limiting assumptions. This gives confidence in both the limiting assumptions (under appropriate conditions) and the numerical solutions. At low ion concentrations, the analytical solutions may enable rapid characterization of membrane coatings or boundary layers in solution, and such boundary layers are important in many applications of ion-exchange membranes. In fact, the assumption of complete co-ion exclusion is sometimes more limiting than the constraint of constant electrochemical potentials of counterions across the membrane. Remarkably, this limiting case readily yields the ion accumulation and depletion regions above "ion-exchange patches" that reside beneath a solution with an applied electric field. Such regions are important for sample preconcentration in microfluidic devices.

Quantifying the pH shift induced by selective anodic electrochemical reactions in the ion concentration polarization phenomenon

Recently, the ion concentration polarization (ICP) phenomenon has been actively utilized for low abundance biomolecular preconcentration applications. Since ICP significantly rearranges the ion distribution near a permselective membrane, its detailed investigation should be conducted for developing efficient platforms. In particular, proton transport through the membrane critically affects the pH of sample solutions so that continuous monitoring or batch measurement of pH is the priority task to be carried out. Moreover, electrochemical reactions have been overlooked, even though an overpotential is applied to preconcentrate a sample under physiological conditions, and the electrodes are in direct contact with the sample biomolecules. In this work, we experimentally visualized and directly measured how the electrochemical reaction dominated the preconcentration efficiency using two types of electrode configurations; large exposed electrode area (LEEA) and small exposed electrode area (SEEA). Interestingly, significant pH variation was confirmed only in the case of SEEA. As a result, the BSA preconcentration was impeded within a short period in the case of SEEA, but loss-free preconcentration was achieved in the case of LEEA. Therefore, one should pay careful attention to the electrode design of electrokinetic operation, especially when pH-sensitive biomolecules are involved.

Transient response of nonideal ion-selective microchannel-nanochannel devices

We report evidence of variation in ion selectivity of a fabricated microchannel-nanochannel device resulting in the appearance of a distinct local maximum in the overlimiting chronopotentiometric response. In this system consisting of shallow microchannels joined by a nanochannel, viscous shear at the microchannel walls suppresses the electro-osmotic instability and prevents any associated contribution to the nonmonotonic response. Thus, this response is primarily electrodiffusive. Numerical simulations indicate that concentration polarization develops not only within the microchannel but also within the nanochannel itself, with a local voltage maximum in the chronopotentiometric response correlated with interfacial depletion and having the classic i^{-2} Sands time dependence. Furthermore, the occurrence of the local maxima is correlated with the change in selectivity due to internal concentration polarization. Understanding the transient nonideal permselective response is essential for obtaining fundamental insight and for optimizing efficient operation of practical fabricated nanofluidic and membrane devices.

Numerical simulation of electrochemical desalination

We present an effective numerical approach to simulate electrochemically mediated desalination of seawater. This new membraneless, energy efficient desalination method relies on the oxidation of chloride ions, which generates an ion depletion zone and local electric field gradient near the junction of a microchannel branch to redirect sea salt into the brine stream, consequently producing desalted water. The proposed numerical model is based on resolution of the 3D coupled Navier-Stokes, Nernst-Planck, and Poisson equations at non-uniform spatial grids. The model is implemented as a parallel code and can be employed to simulate mass-charge transport coupled with surface or volume reactions in 3D systems showing an arbitrarily complex geometrical configuration.

Coupled concentration polarization and electroosmotic circulation near micro/nanointerfaces: Taylor-Aris model of hydrodynamic dispersion and limits of its applicability

Mismatches in electrokinetic properties between micro- and nanochannels give rise to superposition of electroosmotic and pressure-driven flows in the microchannels. Parabolic or similar flow profiles are known to cause the so-called hydrodynamic dispersion, which under certain conditions can be formally assimilated to an increase in the solute diffusivity (Taylor-Aris model). It is demonstrated theoretically that taking into account these phenomena modifies considerably the pattern of current-induced concentration polarization of micro/nanointerfaces as compared to the classical model of unstirred boundary layer. In particular, the hydrodynamic dispersion leads to disappearance of limiting current. At essentially "over-limiting" current densities, the time-dependent profiles of salt concentration in microchannels behave like sharp concentration "fronts" moving away from the interface until they reach the reservoir end of the microchannel. Under galvanostatic conditions postulated in this study, these "fronts" move with practically constant speed directly proportional to the current density. The sharp transition from a low-concentration to a high-concentration zone can be useful for the analyte preconcentration via stacking. The pattern of moving sharp concentration "fronts" has been predicted for the first time for relatively broad microchannels with negligible surface conductance. The Taylor-Aris approach to the description of hydrodynamic dispersion is quantitatively applicable only to the analysis of sufficiently "slow" processes (as compared to the characteristic time of diffusion relaxation in the transversal direction). A posteriori estimates reveal that the condition of "slow" processes is typically not satisfied close to current-polarized micro/nanointerfaces. Accordingly, to make the description quantitative, one needs to go beyond the Taylor-Aris approximation, which will be attempted in future studies. It is argued that doing so would make even stronger the dampening impact of hydrodynamic dispersion on the current-induced concentration polarization of micro/nanointerfaces.