Ion exchange membranes are widely used for water treatment and ion separation by electrodialysis. One of the ways to increase the efficiency of industrial membranes is their modification with various dopants. To improve the membrane permselectivity, a simple strategy of the membrane surface modification was proposed. Heterogeneous RALEX-CM membranes were surface-modified by ceria with a phosphate-functionalized surface. Despite a decrease in ionic conductivity of the prepared composite membranes, their cation transport numbers slightly increase. Moreover, the modified membranes show a threefold increase in Ca2+/Na+ permselectivity (from 2.1 to 6.1) at low current densities.
Keywords: RALEX; ceria; composite; heterogeneous membrane; permselectivity; surface modification conductivity.