Spectrophotometric Studies of Cerium(III) and Thorium(IV) Chelates of Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid (DTPA)

The interaction between diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA or H_sZ) and Ce(III) and Th(IV) ions has been investigated spectrophotometrically in aqueous solution at an ionic strength of 0.1 and for various temperatures. It has been found that the Ce(III)-DTPA chelate (1:1) exhibited a characteristic absorption maximum at 297 nm, and the optimum pH range is between 3.4 to 4.4. The absorption of Ce(III)-DTPA chelate is considerably diminished by adding small amounts of Th(IV) ions. This phenomenon was used to evaluate the formation constant of Th(IV)-DTPA chelate (1:1). The formation constants and the thermodynamic properties characterizing the formation of the chelates have been calculated at 25°. The results are as follows: