Kinetics and molecular orbital calculations of desulfonation of strong acid cation-exchange resin

This paper deals with the desulfonation properties of some strong acid cation-exchange resins. The sulfate concentration in solution is continuously increased when a strong acid cation-exchange resin is mixed with water. The leaching of sulfate results from the desulfonation of the fixed group, and the amount of leached sulfate depends on the counter ion charge, the crosslinking degree and the exchanger matrix. The effects of the counter ion charge on the desulfonation rate suggested that the counter ion induces the nucleophilic attack of a water molecule on the sulfo group. This interpretation was supported by semiempirical molecular orbital calculations for the C₆H₅SO₃⁻M^m+ (M^m+ = Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺) systems, and the transition state of the Na⁺ system was successfully predicted by DFT calculations. The crosslinking degree influenced the desulfonation rate, which can be related to the decreasing hydration number of each counter ion in the resin phase with the increasing crosslinking degree. Furthermore, different exchanger matrices produced the differences in the rates, which may be derived from the electron-density donation from the exchanger matrix to the sulfo group. The desulfonation is governed by the electron-density of the sulfur atom and the water activity in the solid phase.