A specific method for the separation of mercury(II) using a weakly basic cellulose ion exchanger

A systematic study of the behavior of many metal ions on the weakly basic cellulose exchanger DEAE in dilute thiocyanate media showed that few metal ions are adsorbed. The adsorption of mercury(II) allows a rapid and highly selective separation from about 40 metal ions. Quantitative results are quoted for the separation of ca. 100 μg of mercury(II) from milligram amounts of other metal ions; 100 μg to 10 mg of mercury(II) can be quantitatively separated from iron(III) in proportions of mercury(II): iron(III) = 100:1 to 1:8,000 on a column containing only 1 g of DEAE.