Ion-pair extraction of uranyl ion from aqueous medium using crown ethers

Ion-pair extraction behaviour of uranyl ion from aqueous solutions was studied at pH 3.0 employing crown ethers viz. benzo 15 crown 5 (B15C5), 18 crown 6 (18C6), dibenzo 18 crown 6 (DB18C6), and dibenzo 24 crown 8 (DB24C8) in chloroform as the organic phase and picric acid as the organophilic counter anion. The stoichiometry of the extracted species corresponded to UO₂(crown ether)_n]²⁺·pic^?]₂ where n=1.5 for benzo 15 crown 5 and 1 for 18 crown 6 as well as dibenzo 18 crown 6. Adducts of DB24C8 could not be observed as practically no extraction was possible using this reagent. The separation behaviour of fission products from an irradiated uranium target was also studied. An interesting observation on the separation of trivalent lanthanides from uranyl ion is reported.