Liquid-liquid extraction of nickel(II) by capric (decanoic) acid from sodium sulfate solution

What is it about?

The paper complements the previous research on the equilibrium of liquid-liquid extraction of bivalent ions from sodium sulphate solutions by using decanoic acid as complexing agent. As a novelty, the behaviour of Ni (II) ion is studied. The proposed theoretical models for the stoichiometry of complexation equilibria and molecular structures of the resulting complexes are validated by experimental investigations as pH-metrics, UV-vis an IR spectral analysis and confirmed by comparation with literature data on metal ions extraction by complexation with carboxylic acids. In addition, using previously published results for Co (II) and Cu (II), perform a comparative study to characterize the extraction equilibria by capric acid complexation of these ions.

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Why is it important?

This study presents research on the extraction of nickel(II) from sulfate medium using capric acid as an extractant. The purpose of this work is to determine the nature, stoichiometry and molecular structure of the formed complexes as well as their extraction constants. FT-IR and UV–visible spectroscopy have been also used for the investigation of the organometallic extracted species. Furthermore, a comparative study was performed to attain selectivity order of the three metals based on the current and previous experimental data.