Liquid–liquid extraction of Cu(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) with salicylidèneaniline from sulphate media

For a fundamental study on the development of novel extraction divalent metal, the extraction behaviour of copper(II), cobalt(II) and nickel(II) is studied with salicylidèneaniline (SAN). The phenol group in the Schiff base moiety leads to a large increase in the percentage of transition metal ions. SAN has both good reactivity towards metal ions and solubility in organic solvents. The solvent extraction of copper(II), cobalt(II) and nickel(II) with salicylidèneaniline from sulphate media is studied with the following parameters: pH, concentration of the extractant and the nature of diluent. The stoichiometry coefficients of the extracted species are determined by the slope analysis method. The extraction reaction proceeds by cation exchange mechanism and the extracted species are: CuL2HL, CoL2HL and NiL2. The extaction constants are evaluated for the different diluents. Under suitable conditions of pH, the solvent extraction of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) in different diluents leads to third phase formation. This tendency is confirmed from numerical extraction constants for both metal cations (log K ex = −15.10 ± 0.03 for nickel(II) in CHCl3) and (log K ex = −12.56 ± 0.04 for cobalt(II) in CHCl3). The extraction efficiency is found to follow the order Cu(II) > Co(II) > Ni(II).