title: Insight into selective removal of copper from high-concentration nickel solutions with XPS and DFT: New technique to prepare 5N-nickel with chelating resin.
abstract: An efficient and profitable separation process was proposed to prepare 5N (the purity of the metal solution reaches 99.999%) high-purity nickel from 3N nickel-solutions using Purolite S984. The adsorption performance of this superior resin, especially its selectivity for metal ions, was explored quantitatively. The maximum adsorption capacity for copper was 2.286mmol/g calculated by the Langmuir model, which was twice as large as that for nickel. In the binary systems, the adsorption capacity for nickel was decreased by 45%, indicating direct competition for the active sites. The infinite separation factor for copper versus nickel exceeded 300, revealing the feasibility of preparing 5N-level high-purity nickel solutions, which was further verified using the 800BV (bed volume) effluent in the column dynamic process. According to the cost-benefit analysis, purification contributed to a profit of approximately 60,000USD per cycle, and the investment return period was less than 1/3years. Density functional theory analysis confirmed that four nitrogen atoms would be involved in the coordination complex and thus a structure involving two five-membered rings could be achieved. The X-ray photoelectron spectra confirmed the involvement of nitrogen atoms, implying a coordination ratio of approximately 1:1.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Xuewen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: jogia@163.com.
authors.forename: Fuqiang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: baizp@nju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhiping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, MEP, Guangzhou 510655, China.
authors.forename: Dongyang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Xiaopeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Junfei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Xiaowen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Baohua
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Chenghui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
authors.forename: Aimin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002614:Chelating Agents; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel
keywords: Amino chelating resin; Copper; Density functional theory; High-purity nickel; Selective separation