Ion-Exchange at Solution Surface

Although ion-exchange phenomena are usually studied using bulk materials, such as resins, membranes etc, ion-exchange occurs even at solution surfaces (or solution/air interface) . Efficient approaches to ion-exchange occurring at this slightly unusual domain have been severely limited because of the restricted reaction volume (in turn small amounts of solutes involved m the reaction) . We have developed a special approach to the reaction occurring at solution surfaces on the basis of X-ray absorption fine structure. In the present paper, we briefly mention the effectiveness of this approach, and discuss surface ion-exchange equilibria and the structures of conterions electrostatically attracted by surface monolayers.