Relationship between liquid nanoscale structure in solvents and the strength of the Hofmeister effect in extraction experiments.

In this study, we used mixtures of carboxylic acids and amines as solvents for the liquid-liquid extraction of copper salts with various anions from aqueous phase, and systematically varied the acid/amine ratio to determine its influence on extraction efficiency. The organic phases resulting from these extraction experiments were studied using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), establishing a connection between the extraction process and the liquid structure. A relationship is found between the extent of extraction for the metal salt, the strength of the Hofmeister effect of the anions of the salt, and the characteristic lengthscale of the observed liquid nanoscale structure before and after extraction.

Selective extraction of metal ions from aqueous phase to ionic liquids: a novel thermodynamic approach to separations.

The selective extraction of metals from aqueous mixtures has generally relied on the use of selective ionophores. We present an alternative strategy that exploits a recently developed approach to extraction into an ionic liquid phase, and show that a high degree of control over selectivity can be obtained by tuning the relative concentrations of extraction agents. A thermodynamic model for the approach is presented, and an experimental separation of strontium and potassium ions is performed. It is shown that tuning the concentrations of the species involved can shift the ratio of potassium to strontium in the ionic liquid phase from 4:1 to 3:4. This extraction is performed under mild conditions with relatively common reagents. The result is a proof-of-concept for a novel separations scheme that could have great importance in a wide range of technological applications.

A novel mechanism for the extraction of metals from water to ionic liquids.

We present a novel mechanism for the extraction of metals from aqueous phases to room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) by use of a high-temperature salt as an extraction agent. The mechanism capitalizes on the fact that charged metal complexes are soluble in ILs; this allows for extraction of charged complexes rather than the neutral species, which are formed by conventional approaches. The use of a well-chosen extraction agent also suppresses the competing ion-exchange mechanism, thus preventing degradation of the ionic liquid. The approach permits the use of excess extractant to drive the recovery of metals in high yield. This work presents both a thermodynamic framework for understanding the approach and experimental verification of the process in a range of different ILs. The method has great potential value in the recovery of metals, water purification and nuclear materials processing.