Separating Ag, B, Cd, Dy, Eu, and Sm in a Gd matrix using 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester extraction chromatography for ICP-AES analysis

The separation procedure for Ag, B, Cd, Dy, Eu and Sm as impurities in Gd matrix using ICP-AES technique with an extraction chromatographic column has been developed. The spectral interference of the Gd matrix on the elements was eliminated using a chromatography technique with 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC-88A) as the mobile phase and XAD-16 resin as the stationary phase. Ag+, B4O72−, and Cd2+ were eluted with 0.1 M HNO3, while rare earth ions were not. The best eluent for separating Eu and Sm in the Gd matrix was 0.3 M HNO3. The limit of quantitation for these elements was 0.6–3.0 ng mL−1. The recovery of Ag, B, and Cd was 90–104% using 0.1 M HNO3 as the eluent, while that of Eu, Gd, and Sm ranged from 100 to 102% with 0.3 M HNO3. Dy was recovered quantitatively with 4 M HNO3. The relative standard deviation of the methods for a set of three replicates was between 1.0 and 15.4% for the synthetic and standard Gd solutions. The proposed separation procedure was used to measure Ag, B, Cd, Dy, Eu, and Sm in a standard Gd solution.