Studies on Polyoxyethylene octyl phenyl ether supported Thorium phosphate, a new cation exchange material

Abstract

A new surfactant supported cation exchanger and adsorbent named, polyoxyethylene octyl phenyl ether supported thorium(IV) phosphate (TX-100ThP) has been reported along with its synthesis, physico-chemical characterization such as scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis–differential thermal analysis and Fourier transform infra-red study. Following the characterization, the formed product has been tested for its efficiency in ion exchange chemistry and in analytical chemistry. For the testing, adsorption of alkaline earths—Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+ and transition metal ions such as Fe3+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Hg2+ and Pb2+ have been explored in different acidic media and the results revealed the selectivity of synthesized material towards Hg2+ ions. On that basis, the material has been used to treat the binary laboratory-made samples, exploring the environmental importance of the cation exchanger in material science.