Transport of alkali halides through a liquid organic membrane containing a ditopic salt-binding receptor.

A ditopic receptor is shown to have an impressive ability to recognize and extract the ion pairs of various alkali halides into organic solution. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the salts are bound in the solid state as contact ion pairs. Transport experiments, using a supported liquid membrane and high salt concentration in the source phase, show that the ditopic receptor can transport alkali halide salts up to 10-fold faster than a monotopic cation or anion receptor and 2-fold faster than a binary mixture of cation and anion receptors.