Cation-Exchange Separation of Scandium from the Rare-Earth Elements

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Abstract
From certain organic solvents containing organic phosphorus compounds such as trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO), bis(2-ethylhexyl)orthophosphoric acid (HDEHP), or tri-n-butylphosphate (TBP) and hydrochloric acid, scandium is much less retained on the strongly acidic cation-exchange resin Dowex 50 than are all other members of the rare-earth group. Thus on this resin in a medium which is 95% tetrahydrofuran, 5% 6 M hydrochloric acid, and 0.1 M TOPO, the separation factor for scandium-rare earths is greater than 4 × 103 (corresponding to distribution coefficients of < 1 for scandium and >4 × 103 for all the other rare-earth elements). By the use of this system a complete and highly effective separation of tracer and macro quantities of scandium from the rare earths can be achieved on a column of this exchanger. Among the organic solvents investigated, tetrahydrofuran gives the best results. The effectiveness of the organic extractants increases in the order TBP < HDEHP < TOPO