Electrically switched cesium ion exchange. FY 1996 annual report

An electrochemical method for metal ion separations, called Electrically Switched Ion Exchange, is described. Direct oxidation and reduction of an electroactive film attached to an electrode surface is used to load and unload the film with alkali metal cations. The electroactive films under investigation are Ni hexacyanoferrates, which are deposited on the surface by applying an anodic potential to a Ni electrode in a solution containing the ferricyanide anion. Reported film preparation procedures were modified to produce films with improved capacity and stability. Electrochemical behavior of the derivatized electrodes were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry. The films show selectivity for Cs in concentrated sodium solutions. Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor changes in oxidation state of the film and imaging experiments have demonstrated that the redox reactions are spatially homogenous across the film. Requirements for a bench scale unit were identified