Thermodynamic and magnetic resonance studies on the hydration of polymers: I. Interactions of water in a synthetic cation-exchange resin

Measurements of NMR spin-lattice relaxation times T ₁ were performed for sorbed H₂O and D₂O in a sulfonated ion-exchange resin at varying degrees of hydration with alkaline cations as counter ions. From the sorption isotherms at three different temperatures the partial molar enthalpies and entropies of sorption show a minimum for all alkaline cations at water concentrations of n 0.8, i.e., there are 0.8 water molecules per –SO ₃ ^– group. The first water molecules sorbed in the ion-exchange resin matrix are characterized by anisotrtopic rotational diffusion processes with correlation times of the order of ₁ 50 ns and ₂ 30 ps, respectively. This indicates that they are located in the electrostatic field between the corresponding ion pair. Although these two correlation times are very similar at a given temperature for all alkaline cations studied in the present investigation, the existence of a second spin-lattice relaxation time for sorbed H₂O at n=0.8 indicates that for Cs about 50% of the sorbed water diffuses between locations in the resin. This fraction decreases with ionic radii and with falling temperatures. For Li the amount is less than 20%.