Separation and purification of Yb_(2)O_(3) by ion exchange chromatography and preparation of ultra-high purity Yb_(2)O_(3)

Ultra-high purity Yb_(2)O_(3) is the critical material of many high-tech materials such as laser glass and fiber,in which impurities seriously affect the laser color quality,intensity and power.In order to reduce the influence of impurities on the properties of laser materials,the purification process of Yb_(2)O_(3) was studied by comparing two kinds of resins(RT-1 and RS-1)using improved ion-exchange chromatography(IEC)method.In this study,through the synergistic improvement of resin structure and eluting system,the environmental pollution caused by ammonia water in the traditional IEC method was reduced,and the requirements of high temperature and pressure were cut.The ion exchange behavior and impurity removal mechanism in the resin column during the loading and eluting process were compared and analyzed.The experimental results show that RS-1 resin is all superior to RT-1resin in elements selectivity,ion exchange capacity and impurities removal rate.After separation and purification by IEC with RS-1 resin,the total removal rate of rare earth impurities was 77.59%and that of non-rare earth impurities was 95.86%when Yb recovery was more than 70%,both higher than that of RT-1 resin(73.26%and 83.18%).This indicates that the improved IEC method is very effective in separating and removing different metal impurities from Yb_(2)O_(3).The pilot test results of IEC method separating and purifying Yb_(2)O_(3) with RS-1 resin show that the purity of Yb_(2)O_(3) can be increased from 99.9929%to 99.9997%by IEC method.It has exhibited huge potential of preparing ultra-high purity Yb_(2)O_(3),especially the deep removal of non-rare earth impurities.

Influence of microwave on chromium complex composition in tanning liquor

Since microwave irradiation could promote hydrolysis and olation of chromium tanning liquor,but the influence of microwave on chromium complex component in the liquor was still unknown.Chromium sulphate solution(0%basicity)and 33%basicity chromium tanning liquor were subjected microwave(MW)and water bath(WB)heating,and the samples without any warming were regarded as control.Ion exchange chromatography(IEC)and gel filtration chromatography(GFC)were used to measure the charge composition and molecular size of chromium complexes in each sample.FT-IR was used to characterize the structure of chromium complexes in each composition separated by IEC.Moreover,the chromium tanning liquor after warming was used in hide powder tanning trials to illustrate whether microwave would affect its tanning ability.The results show there are more high positive charge and large molecular size complexes in chromium tanning liquor after warming but the phenomena are more significant in MW samples compared with WB due to non-thermal effect of microwave.In addition,microwave has more powerful effect on 33%basicity chromium tanning liquor hydrolysis and olation to generate larger molecular size complexes.In FT-IR results,the combination pattern between chromium and ligands are changed after warming but there is no difference between WB and MW.The chromium exhaustion and thermal stability of hide powder tanned with chromium tanning liquor after microwave irradiation are both higher.It could conclude that both thermal and non-thermal effects of microwave promote the process together,and the nonthermal effect leads to more high positive charge and large molecular size complexes and has stronger influence on high polarity system.In short,this work would provide theoretical basis for applying microwave in tanning agent modification and chrome tanning process further.