Comparison of carrier-facilitated silver (i) and copper (ii) ions transport mechanisms in a supported liquid membrane and in a plasticized cellulose triacetate membrane

Transport of silver and copper ions through a plasticized cellulose triacetate membrane (CTA) containing macrocylic polyethers as carrier and 2-nitro phenyl octyl ether (NPOE) as plasticizer has been investigated. The membrane CTA–NPOE–Carrier was characterised using chemical techniques for metal ion transport as well as Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A comparative study of transport mechanism across such a membrane and a supported liquid membrane (SLM) containing the same carrier has been made.