Abstract: | Crown ether-modified polyethylenimines (PEI-CR) were prepared to elucidate their cation binding efficiency and selectivity by liquid-liquid and solid-liquid extraction methods. With alkali metal cations it was found that polyethylenimines containing benzo-15-crown-5 moieties (Ia and Ib) extracted all cations examined more efficiently than their monomeric analogs, especially in the cases of K+ and Rb+ cations. The solid-liquid extraction revealed clearly that the polymers complexed with K+ and Rb+ cations according to a 1:2 cation-to-crown stoichiometry. The high selectivities of the polymers for K+ and Rb+ were interpreted in terms of the favourable conformation of the polymer chain for the formation of intramolecular 1:2 complexes. On the contrary, these polymers bound alkali earth cations less effectively with low selectivities. |