Ion-exchange behaviour of copper ferricyanide

A new inorganic ion exchanger, copper ferricyanide prepared by adding copper nitrate to a potassium ferricyanide solution at 80°C has been found to be stable in acids and salt solutions. It has been characterized by chemical analysis, thermogravimetry. X-ray and infrared spectroscopy. Distribution coefficients determined for various metal ions show that the exchanger has a high affinity for heavy univalent cations. The variation of K_d for a number of metal ions as a function of nitric acid concentration and ammonium nitrate has been investigated to elucidate the probable exchange mechanism and to work out conditions for elution. Binary separations of Cs from a number of other metal ions were achieved on the column of exchanger. The exchanger is useful for the separation of¹³⁷Cs.