title: Layered A2Sn3S7·1.25H2O (A = Organic Cation) as Efficient Ion-Exchanger for Rare Earth Element Recovery.
abstract: Exploring new ion-exchangers for the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) and recycling is worthwhile for the high-tech industry and an eco-friendly sustainable economy. The efficient enrichment of low concentration REE from complex aqueous solutions containing large excess of competitive ions is challenging. Here we present a chalcogenide example as a superior REE ion-exchanger efficiently removing them from very complex aqueous solutions, (Me2NH2)1.33(Me3NH)0.67Sn3S7·1.25H2O (FJSM-SnS). The material exhibits fast and efficient ion exchange behavior with short equilibrium time (<5 min), high adsorption capacity (139 mg/g for Eu, 147 mg/g for Tb, 126 mg/g for Nd), wide pH resistance (1.9-8.5), the largest distribution coefficient (Kd) value of 6.5 × 106mL/g, good selectivity against Al3+, Fe3+, and Na+ions, and high recovery rate (>99%) at low concentrations. Moreover, after ion-exchange, the REE in corresponding exchanged products could be easily recovered by elution. FJSM-SnS has superior capacity and faster absorption kinetics than other states of the artificial REE sorbents such as Al2O3/EG, clay minerals, zeolite, and activated carbon.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xing-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ke-Zhao
authors.initials: KZ
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.|Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.
authors.forename: Mei-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yu-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ying
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3514-216X
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.
authors.forename: Mercouri G
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2037-4168
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kanatzidis