Amberlyst 15 hydrogen form dry

The following chemicals were purchased and utilized without any additional purification: glycerol (99.8% purity, A. R. grade) and ethanol (greater than 95% purity, A.R. grade) were secured from R&M Chemicals, Malaysia. Amberlyst-15 hydrogen form dry, acetol (90% purity, technical grade), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) (60 wt% dispersion in H₂O) were purchased from Sigma Aldrich, Malaysia. In addition, 1,2-propanediol (99% purity, GC grade), sodium sulfate anhydrous (Na₂SO₄) (greater than 99% purity, A.R. grade), tetraethylene glycol, dimethyl ether (greater than 99% purity, GC grade), and 1,3-propanediol (99% purity, GC grade) were obtained from Acros Organics, Geel, Belgium. Diethylene glycol (99% purity, GC grade) was purchased from Fluka Chemie GmbH, Buchs, Switzerland, the activated carbon (99.5% purity, an average particle size of 100 μm, and a specific surface area of 950 m²/g) was purchased from Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, and the carbon black (99% purity, an average particle size of 13 nm, and a specific surface area of 550 m²/g) was purchased from Alpha-Chemicals Sdn Bhd, Penang, Malaysia.

For the preparation of the AEM, polyepichlorohydrin (PECH; ${\left(CH\left(C{H}_{2}Cl\right)C{H}_{2}O\right)}_n$ ; average molecular weight, $M_w$ ∼ 700,000), polyacrylonitrile (PAN; ${\left(C_3{H}_{3}N\right)}_n$ ; $M_w$ ∼ 150,000), 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO® 33-LV; $C_6{H}_{12}{N}_{12}$ ; $M_w$ ∼ $112.17$
$\mathrm{g}$ mol⁻¹ and density, $\rho$ = $1.02$
$\mathrm{g}$
$\mathrm{m}$ $\mathrm{L}$ ⁻¹) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMS; ${\left(C{H}_3\right)}_{2}SO$ ≥ 99.5%; $M_w$
$78.13$
$\mathrm{g}$ mol⁻¹; $\rho$ = $1.10$
$\mathrm{g}$
$\mathrm{m}$ $\mathrm{L}$ ⁻¹) were used. Polyethylenimine (PEI; $\left(C_2{H}_{5}N\right)n$ ; $M_w$ ∼ 25,000) and glutaraldehyde solution (GA; $C_5{H}_8{O}_2$ ; Grade I 25 in H ${}_2$ O) were used for the AEM modification. All these reagents were acquired from Sigma Aldrich.
For the preparation of the CEM, polyvinyl chloride (PVC; ${\left(C_2{H}_{3}Cl\right)}_n$ ; $M_w$ ∼ 43,000; $\rho =1.4\mathrm{g} \mathrm{m}\mathrm{L}$ ⁻¹, and inherent viscosity, $\mu =0.51\mathrm{g} \mathrm{m}\mathrm{L}$ ⁻¹); tetrahydrofuran anhydrous (THF $C_4{H}_{8}O\ge 99.9\%$ , with a $M_w$ of $72.11$
$\mathrm{g}$ mol⁻¹ and density of $0.89$
$\mathrm{d}$ $\mathrm{L}$ $\mathrm{g}$ ⁻¹); and a strongly acidic cation exchange resin (Amberlyst® 15 hydrogen form, dry) all these reagents were acquired from Sigma Aldrich. The cellulose acetate (CA, $C_{164}{H}_{174}{O}_{111}$ ; $M_w$ ∼ 100,000; ACROS Organics) was used for the modification of this membrane.