Liquid-liquid Distribution of the Tetravalent Zirconium, Hafnium and Thorium with a New Tetradentate Naphthol-derivative Schiff Base

A fundamental study was developed concerning the novel solvent extraction of the tetravalent metal ions; zirconium(IV), hafnium(IV) and thorium(IV). Their extraction behavior in toluene was investigated with a recently synthesized naphthol-derivative Schiff base, 1-({[4-(4-{[(E)-1-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthyl)methyliden]amino}phenoxy) phenyl]imino}methyl)-2-naphthol (HAPMN). The spectrophotometrical examination of the complex formation between HAPMN and the Zr(IV), Hf(IV) and Th(IV) ions in acetonitrile revealed the formation of stable 1:1 complexes in the solution. After the thorium extraction in toluene, it was found that [Th(OH)3HA] was the respective deriving substance. While, in the case of zirconium and hafnium extraction, the extracted adduct was found to be [M4(OH)8(H2O)16Cl62HA]. The stoichiometric coefficients of these extracted species were determined by the slope analysis method. The extraction reaction followed a cation exchange mechanism.