Comparative electrochemical behavior of Prussian blue analogues as a host electrode for rare earth element recovery

Abstract

In this paper, electrodeposited films belonging to the Prussian Blue Analogues (PBAs) family, namely, nickel-hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) and copper-hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF), were employed as a host material for rare earth elements (REE), and the reported insertion/release study reveals a recovery capability for such valuable metals. The ion insertion/release was accomplished by adopting an electrochemically-driven process. A reversible intercalation was observed while considering both heavy and ligth rare earth elements. The amount of REEs inserted/released over the process and its kinetic evolution during the process were also studied by a chemometric approach. For CuHCF, it was seen that the intercalation of heavy rare earth elements occurs easily respect to the light ones, suggesting a possible selectivity among these ions.