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Electro‐kinetic Separation of Rare Earth Elements Using a Redox‐Active Ligand
Author(s) -
Fang Huayi,
Cole Bren E.,
Qiao Yusen,
Bogart Justin A.,
Cheisson Thibault,
Manor Brian C.,
Carroll Patrick J.,
Schelter Eric J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201706894
Subject(s) - yttrium , lutetium , redox , rare earth , rare earth element , chemistry , ligand (biochemistry) , metal , extraction (chemistry) , lanthanide , kinetic energy , inorganic chemistry , chromatography , mineralogy , organic chemistry , ion , biochemistry , receptor , physics , quantum mechanics , oxide
Purification of rare earth elements is challenging due to their chemical similarities. All of the deployed separation methods rely on thermodynamic properties, such as distribution equilibria in solvent extraction. Rare‐earth‐metal separations based on kinetic differences have not been examined. Herein, we demonstrate a new approach for rare‐earth‐element separations by exploiting differences in the oxidation rates within a series of rare earth compounds containing the redox‐active ligand [{2‐( t BuN(O))C 6 H 4 CH 2 } 3 N] 3− . Using this method, a single‐step separation factor up to 261 was obtained for the separation of a 50:50 yttrium–lutetium mixture.