Mixed-ligand chelate extraction of neodymium(III) with thenoyltrifluoroacetone and various sulphoxides

Mixed-ligand chelate extraction of Nd(III) into benzene with mixtures of thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) and bis-2-ethylhexyl sulphoxide (B2EHSO) or di-n-octyl sulphoxide (DOSO) or diphenyl sulphoxide (DPhSO) or trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) from thiocyanate solutions has been studied. A very high synergistic enhancement of the order 10(3) has been observed in these systems. Thus this mixed-ligand chelate system may be useful in the extraction and separation of Nd(III) from other metal ions. The mechanism of extraction can be explained by a simple chemically based model presented in this paper.