Preparation of nano-structure controlled ion-exchange membranes by ion beams and their application to seawater concentration

Yamaki, Tetsuya*; Goto, Mitsuaki*; Sawada, Shinichi*; Koshikawa, Hiroshi*; Kitamura, Akane; Higa, Mitsuru*

We prepared ion exchange membranes by a heavy-ion-track grafting method, and then used them for seawater concentration process. Both the water uptake and resistance were lower for our ion-track grafted membranes than for the conventional -ray-grafted membranes. The results would be because local and high-density energy deposition due to the ion beam enabled us to control the membrane structure in a nanometer scale. We demonstrate our membranes are suitable for this application.