The effect of the crosslinking and the porosity of the chelating resins containing phosphinic and/or phosphonic acid groups (RSP and RCSP) on uptake of trivalent lanthanides was studied; RSP and RCSP were prepared by hydrolysis of condensation products of phosphorus trichloride with styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer beads ( RS ) and with chloromethylated RS, respectively. From a series of RSs synthesized by systematically changing the amount of the crosslinker (divinylbenzene) or the porogen (2,2,4-trimethylpentane), RSPs and RCSPs with different degrees of crosslinking and with different porosities were derived.
Measurements of their uptake of La( 111) , Gd( 111) , or Yb( 111) have clarified that RSP and RCSP with moderately crosslinked highly porous structures exhibit high capacities toward the lanthanides. Using these optimized RSP and RCSP and their respective oxidized derivatives RSPO and RCSPO, the distribution of all lanthanides( 111) except for Pm( 111) from aqueous hydrochloric acid solutions (0.1-1 M ) was examined. The distribution of each lanthanide(II1) at a given concentration of the acid increases in the order RCSPO = RCSP < RSPO < RSP. Their lanthanide selectivity patterns resemble one another; the selectivity increases with increasing the atomic number of the lanthanides except for the elements from Sm to Ho. In order to illustrate usefulness of these resins in the separation of lanthanides, the chromatographic separation of La (111) , Nd (111) , and Sm( 111) was conducted using columns packed with RCSP. The three lanthanides were successfully separated by the elution with 0.5M hydrochloric acid solution without use of any organic complexing reagents, such as EDTA.