Chemical modeling of metal biosorption requires the characterization of biomass used as sorbent. The (local) structural environment of Cu(II) and Zn(II) sorbed on corn cobs biomass has been investigated by secondary electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The IR spectrum obtained for the above said biomass render a complex nature of the corn cobs biomass. Despite this complexity some characteristic peaks may be identified

A novel electrochemical cell for the evaluation of the ionic conductivity in polymer conducting membranes is proposed. This cell has the advantages of being able to determine with high precision the membrane thickness during electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. A conductivity factor is also proposed in order to classify various membranes with respect to their conductivity versus a reference membrane, namely Nafion® 117.