membranes Article Hydration and Diffusion of H+, Li+, Na+, Cs+ Ions in Cation-Exchange Membranes Based on Polyethylene- and Sulfonated-Grafted Polystyrene Studied by NMR Technique and Ionic Conductivity Measurements Vitaliy I. Volkov 1,2,*, Alexander V. Chernyak 1,2, Daniil V. Golubenko 3, Vladimir A. Tverskoy 4, Georgiy A. Lochin 1,5, Ervena S. Odjigaeva 1,5 and Andrey B. Yaroslavtsev 3 1 Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics RAS, 142432 Chernogolovka, Russia;
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[email protected] (E.S.O.) 2 Scientific Center in Chernogolovka RAS, 142432 Chernogolovka, Russia 3 Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry RAS, 119991 Moscow,Russia;
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[email protected] (A.B.Y.) 4 Lomonosov Institute of Fine Chemical Technologies, MIREA–Russian Technological University, 119571 Moscow, Russia;
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[email protected] Received: 12 August 2020; Accepted: 28 September 2020; Published: 1 October 2020 Abstract: The main particularities of sulfonate groups hydration, water molecule and alkaline metal cation translation mobility as well as ionic conductivity were revealed by NMR and impedance spectroscopy techniques. Cation-exchange membranes MSC based on cross-linked sulfonated polystyrene (PS) grafted on polyethylene with ion-exchange capacity of 2.5 mg-eq/g were investigated. Alkaline metal cation hydration numbers (h) calculated from temperature dependences of 1H chemical shift of water molecule for membranes equilibrated with water vapor at RH = 95% are 5, 6, and 4 for Li+, Na+, and Cs+ ions, respectively.