What is it about?
In this work, alkaline solutions of niobium and tantalum have been probed by capillary electrophoresis (CE), for the first time. Taking advantage of the UV properties of hexaniobate and hexatantalate ions, the detection of Nb and Ta could be performed without using toxic and expensive reagents as reported in CE methods previously developed for Nb & Ta samples. The electrophoretic mobility of hexaniobate and hexatantalate ions was measured in a wide pH range (9-13) and in Li+, Na+ and K+-based media.
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Why is it important?
Although hexaniobate and hexatantalate ions ([HxM6O19]x-8) have almost identical electronic and structural features, they were easily separated in a wide pH range. The separation of Nb and Ta was accomplished within 5 min on standard bare-fused silica capillary. The striking difference observed in the mobilities of hexaniobate and hexatantalate ions led to new insights regarding the ion-association behavior of this highly charged species.
Perspectives
This study proves that capillary electrophoresis is a powerful tool for probing Nb and Ta alkaline solutions but this strategy can be extended to other polyoxometalates. The method developed in this work also affords a new strategy for the analytical support of industrial processes that deal with Nb and Ta samples.
Dr Gauthier J-P. Deblonde
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: First investigation of polyoxoniobate and polyoxotantalate aqueous speciation by capillary zone electrophoresis, RSC Advances, January 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry,
DOI: 10.1039/c5ra11521c.
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