0000000000285004
AUTHOR
Hans-jürgen Rapp
Bipolar membranes under forward and reverse bias conditions. Theory vs. experiment
Abstract Bipolar membranes are layered structures composed of one cation-and one anion-exchange membrane joined together in series. The current—voltage curves of two recently developed bipolar membranes have been analysed theoretically and experimentally under both forward and reverse bias conditions. The experimental trends observed are high conductivity under forward bias conditions and high impedance first, and then electric field enhanced (EFE) water dissociation for high enough applied voltages, under reverse bias conditions. The forward bias measurements can contribute to a better knowledge of some of the transport parameters entering also in the reverse biased membrane. Comparison of…
Current‐voltage curves of bipolar membranes
Bipolar membranes consist of a layered ion‐exchange structure composed of a cation selective membrane joined to an anion selective membrane. They are analogous to semiconductor p‐n devices as both of them present current‐voltage curves exhibiting similar rectification properties. In this article, we present some current‐voltage curves obtained for different bipolar membranes at several temperatures. The results can be interpreted in terms of a simple model for ion transport and field‐enhanced water dissociation previously developed. The mechanism responsible for water splitting is assumed to be a catalytic proton transfer reaction between the charged groups and the water at the membrane int…