Separation of iron(III) and gold(III) by paper chromatography using mixed solvents containing diisopropyl ether

Abstract

The separation of iron(III) and gold(III) by partition paper chromatography has been investigated employing a mixture of diisopropyl ether (IPE) and n-alcohol saturated with hydrochloric acid (initial acid concentration 5.0 M) as solvent. Methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, and n-pentyl alcohols were used as components of the solvent. The content of n-alcohol in the initial organic phase was varied. It was found that the R f values for both of the metals increased with an increase in the carbon-to-oxygen ratio in the alcohol (except in the case or iron(III) and n-pentyl alcohol), and with an increase in the alcohol content in the initial organic phase (except in the case of iron(III) and n-propyl alcohol). The best separation results were obtained by using the systems: hydrochloric acid (5.0 M)-IPE- n-propyl alcohol (50:35:15) gD R f = 0.56, hydrochloric acid (5.0 M)-IPE-ethyl alcohol (50:15:35) Δ R f = 0.51, and hydrochloric acid (5.0 M)-IPE- n-pentyl alcohol (50:35:15) Δ R f = 0.37.