Liquid-liquid extraction of iron(III) and gallium(III) with macrocyclic Schiff bases containing bisphenol A subunits

The quantitative extraction of iron(III) and gallium(III) was investigated with the recently synthesized macrocyclic Schiff base containing bisphenol A subunits. The phenol groups in the Schiff base moiety led to a large increase in the percent extraction of trivalent metal ions. The substitution of methoxy groups for phenolic OH ligands resulted in a marked decrease in the extractability of metal ions, and no iron(III) was extracted. The corresponding acyclic Schiff base was found to have a reasonable reactivity toward metal ions and a better solubility in organic solvents. The iron(III) and gallium(III) complexes with macrocyclic and acyclic Schiff bases were quantitatively extracted into nitrobenzene without the presence of bulky counter anions. A single extraction gave a good separation of iron(III) from iron(II) in the mole ratios 4:1 to 1:3. The red iron(III) complexes can be used for the extraction-spectrophotometric determination of iron(III). The apparent molar absorptivity at 518 nm is 5.43 × 103 l mol−1 cm−1.