Synergistic solvent extraction of cerium(III) with mixtures of thenoyltrifluoroacetone and dialkyl sulfoxides

Synergism in the extraction of Ce(III) from thiocyanate solutions has been investigated using mixtures of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) and bis-2-ethylhexyl sulfoxide (B2EHSO) or di-n-octyl sulfoxide (DOSO) in benzene. A very high synergistic enhancement of the order of 10⁵ has been observed. If a mixture of both dialkyl sulfoxides (B2EHSO+DOSO) is used, an additional synergistic effect is found due to the formation of a mixed, solvated complex when both reagents are added to the metal chelate. These extraction data have been analyzed theoretically with the aid of a computer by taking into account complexation of the metal in the aqueous phase by inorganic ligands and plausible complexation in the organic phase. The equilibrium constants of the various product species have been deduced by non-linear regression analysis.