Preparation of pyrrolidinyl diglycolamide bonded silica particles and its rare earth separation properties

The separation of rare earth elements by solid phase containing diglycolamide-type ligands is a hot topic. In this study, 2-[2-oxo-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)ethoxy]acetic acid (PYRDGA) was synthesized and attached to the silica. The binding strength of SiO2 @PYRDGA for rare earths showed a single increasing trend with the radius of rare earth atoms. IR and XPS spectra demonstrated that carbonyl oxygen and ether bond oxygen are binding sites for rare earth ions. SiO2 @PYRDGA was used for the chromatographic separation of REEs, and the primary separation of 16 REEs was achieved at pH = 2.0 using HNO3 solution as the eluent, and La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Eu reached the baseline separation level.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study synthesized SiO2 @PYRDGA and demonstrated its effectiveness in solid phase separation of rare earth elements. By controlling the pH value of the eluent, the separation of 16 rare earth elements was achieved successfully.