Chemical separation and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometric determination of seventeen trace metals in thorium oxide matrix using a novel extractant - Cyanex-923

Comprehensive studies have been carried out on the extraction behaviour of thorium matrix vis-a-vis 17 trace metallic elements using a novel extractant viz. Cyanex-923. The near total extraction of thorium and quantitative separation of these metals has been established using inductively coupled argon plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The recovery of few representative elements has been confirmed by radio-active tracer studies. The studies carried out here have enabled determination of mu g/l amounts of all analyte elements with a precision of better than 1% RSD with prior chemical separation from as low as 1 g thorium sample in just five chemical extractions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.