Journal of Membrane Science, Vol.131, No.1-2, 125-141, 1997
Adsorption and Electrokinetic Characteristics of Microporous and Macroporous Glasses in 1/1 Electrolytes
The influence of pore size on adsorption and electrokinetic characteristics of macroporous (pore radius r=13-160 nm) glasses in 1:1 electrolytes were investigated. The obtained results were compared with parameters of microporous glasses. The influence of electroviscous effect on liquid filtration rate was observed for macroporous glasses in contrast to microporous. The adsorption of potential-determining ions, obtained by a dynamic method, had a tendency to increase with pore size growth in result of both adsorption kinetics and electrical double layer (EDL) overlapping influence for microporous glasses. The values of surface reaction constants and ion adsorption potentials were calculated from adsorption data. These values were typical for a silica surface and practically did not depend on pore size. The counter-ion transport numbers and the contribution of surface conductance in the conductance of pore liquid decrease with an increase in pore size and electrolyte concentration and was due to diminishing of the EDL influence. The electrokinetic potentials of macroporous glasses, calculated with correction for EDL overlapping and surface conductance, did not depend on pore size at a constant surface charge. The isoelectric point of micro- and macroporous glasses in indifferent NaCl solutions correspond to pH(IEP)=1.1. The adsorption and electrokinetic data were used to calculate the values of total end electrokinetically mobile charge, the convective component of surface conductance, the Donnan and EDL potentials, the ion concentration and mobilities in pore solution in the framework of the homogeneous and heterogenous models. The analysis of experimental and calculated parameters make it possible to propose that, besides Hittorf’s, there are other mechanisms of surface conductance, connected with protonic conductance of undissociated silanol groups and with contribution of molecularly sorbed electrolyte in the IEP region.