Local structures of ions at ion-exchange resin/solution interface

The local structures of Cl− and Br− in anion-exchange resins have been studied by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), and separation selectivity is discussed on the basis of results. When two different anion-exchange resins having trimethylammonium and dimethylammonium groups as anion-exchange groups are employed for ion-exchange experiments, slightly higher Br− selectivity has been obtained with the former. XAFS has indicated that the average hydration numbers for a given anion is not affected by the structure of the ion-exchange group, but that the extent of ion-association between the anion and the ion-exchange groups depends on the type of the ion-exchange group. Shorter interaction distance (and in turn stronger ion-association) has been confirmed for the dimethylammonium-type resin, and is consistent with lower Br− selectivity of this resin.