Extraction and separation of zirconium from hafnium by using nano-structured supramolecular solvent microextraction method

In the present study, a simple versatile extraction method based on supramolecular solvent microextraction followed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry was developed for the extraction, separation and determination of zirconium (Zr) from hafnium (Hf). Zr and Hf were complexed with bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid, to obtain hydrophobic complex, and extracted into supramolecular solvent phase. The effective parameters on the supramolecular solvent microextraction efficiency were studied and optimized by using two different optimization methods: one variable at a time and central composite design. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range of 0.3–200.0 and 2.0–200.0 µg L^?1, detection limits (S/N = 3) of 0.1 and 0.6 µg L^?1, and precisions (n = 5) of 3.2–4.9% and 3.0–5.1% were obtained for Zr and Hf, respectively. Finally, the proposed method has been successfully applied for the extraction and separation of these cations in zirconium ore sample.