Abstract
A composite cation exchange material acetonitrile stannic(IV) selenite was prepared under different experimental conditions. The ion exchange capacity of the material was improved from 0.75 to 1.83 meq g
−1
in comparison to its inorganic counterpart, stannic selenite. The material was characterized on the basis of X-ray, TGA, FTIR, and SEM studies. Ion-exchange capacity, pH titration, elution behavior, and distribution studies were also carried out to determine the preliminary ion-exchange properties of the material. Furthermore, it was investigated that this ion exchange material has a good reusability after 8 times regeneration. The sorption behavior of metal ions was studied in nonionic surfactants namely triton x-100 and tween. On the basis of distribution coefficient studies, several binary separations of metal ions viz- Pb
2+
-Th
4+
, Ni
2+
-Th
4+
, Ni
2+
-Zn
2+
, Cu
2+
-Ce
4+
, Al
3+
-Bi
3+
, and Al
3+
Zn
2+
was achieved on the packed column of this ion exchange material. The practical applicability of this cation-exchanger was demonstrated in the separation of Th
4+
from a synthetic mixture of Th
4+
, Ca
2+
, Sr
2+
, Ni
2+
, and Mg
2+
as well as Cu
2+
and Zn
2+
from a brass alloy sample. Thus, all the studies suggest that acetonitrile stannic(IV) selenite has excellent potential for the removal of metal ionic pollutant species from aqueous media effectively.