Ionic transfer is a term which can be used to describe the transfer of ions from one liquid phase to another.

This is related to the phase transfer catalyst

Phase transfer catalyst

In chemistry, a phase transfer catalyst or PTC is a catalyst that facilitates the migration of a reactant from one phase into another phase where reaction occurs. Phase transfer catalysis is a special form of heterogeneous catalysis. Ionic reactants are often soluble in an aqueous phase but...

s which are a special type of liquid-liquid extraction

Liquid-liquid extraction

Liquid–liquid extraction, also known as solvent extraction and partitioning, is a method to separate compounds based on their relative solubilities in two different immiscible liquids, usually water and an organic solvent. It is an extraction of a substance from one liquid phase into another liquid...

 which is used in synthetic

Chemical synthesis

In chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...

 chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

.

For instance nitrate

Nitrate

The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...

 anions can be transferred between water and nitrobenzene

Nitrobenzene

Nitrobenzene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5NO2. It is a water-insoluble pale yellow oil with an almond-like odor. It freezes to give greenish-yellow crystals. It is produced on a large scale as a precursor to aniline. Although occasionally used as a flavoring or perfume...

. One way to observe this is to use a cyclic voltammetry

Cyclic voltammetry

Cyclic voltammetry or CV is a type of potentiodynamic electrochemical measurement. In a cyclic voltammetry experiment the working electrode potential is ramped linearly versus time like linear sweep voltammetry. Cyclic voltammetry takes the experiment a step further than linear sweep voltammetry...

 experiment where the liquid-liquid interface is the working electrode

Electrode

An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit...

. This can be done by placing secondary electrodes in each phase and close to interface each phase has a reference electrode

Reference electrode

A reference electrode is an electrode which has a stable and well-known electrode potential. The high stability of the electrode potential is usually reached by employing a redox system with constant concentrations of each participants of the redox reaction.There are many ways reference...

. One phase is attached to a potentiostat which is set to zero volts, while the other potentiostat

Potentiostat

A potentiostat is the electronic hardware required to control a three electrode cell and run most electroanalytical experiments. A Bipotentiostat and polypotentiostat are potentiostats capable of controlling two working electrodes and more than two working electrodes, respectively.The system...

 is driven with a triangular wave. This experiment is known as a polarised Interface between Two Imisable Electrolyte Solutions (ITIES

ITIES

ITIES is an acronym used in electrochemistry for the "Interface between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions". Usually, one electrolyte is an aqueous electrolyte composed of hydrophilic ions such as NaCl dissolved in water and the other electrolyte is a lipophilic salt such as tetrabutylammonium...

) experiment.