The Donnan potential revealed

Pinar Aydogan Gokturk, Rahul Sujanani, Jin Qian, Ye Wang, Lynn E. Katz, Benny D. Freeman, Ethan J. Crumlin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

64 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Selective transport of solutes across a membrane is critical for many biological, water treatment and energy conversion and storage systems. When a charged membrane is equilibrated with an electrolyte, an unequal distribution of ions arises between phases, generating the so-called Donnan electrical potential at the solution/membrane interface. The Donnan potential results in the partial exclusion of co-ion, providing the basis of permselectivity. Although there are well-established ways to indirectly estimate the Donnan potential, it has been widely reported that it cannot be measured directly. Here we report the first direct measurement of the Donnan potential of an ion exchange membrane equilibrated with salt solutions. Our results highlight the dependence of the Donnan potential on external salt concentration and counter-ion valence, and show a reasonable agreement with current theoretical models of IEMs, which incorporate ion activity coefficients. By directly measuring the Donnan potential, we eliminate ambiguities that arise from limitations inherent in current models.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5880
Number of pages7
JournalNature Communications
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Oct 2022
Externally publishedYes

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