Electrically controlled anion exchange based on polypyrrole and carbon nanotubes nanocomposite for perchlorate removal

A simple and highly effective process for perchlorate removal based on electrically switched ion exchange (ESIX) was developed by using polypyrrole (PPy) deposited on high surface area carbon nanotubes. The redox switching of conducting polymers such as polypyrrole is accompanied by the exchange of ions into or out of the polymer. This effect could be used for the development of an electrically switchable ion-exchanger for water purification, particularly for the removal of anions. In the research presented in this paper, the anion-exchange behavior and ion-exchange capacity of electrochemically prepared polypyrrole on glassy carbon electrodes with and without carbon nanotube (CNT) backbones are characterized using cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been found that the presence of carbon nanotube backbone results in an improvement in the anion exchange stability of polypyrrole, which may be due to the stronger interaction between carbon nanotubes and polypyrrole. Chronoamperometric studies show that the process of electrically switched anion exchange could be finished within 10 s. The selectivity of PPy/CNTs films for the perchlorate ion is demonstrated using cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results of the present study point to the possibility of developing a green process for removing ClO4- from wastewater using such a novel nanostructured PPy/CNT composite thin film through an electrically switched anion exchange.