Synergistic Effect of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Micelles on Copper(II) Extraction from Saline Sulfate Medium with Some Ortho-Hydroxy-Schiff Base Chelating Extractants

Abstract

Abstract The present study investigates the synergistic effect of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles (SDS) on the solvent extraction of copper(II) from saline sulfate medium by some ortho-hydroxy Schiff base extracting agents (HL) in chloroform at (25 ± 2)°C. The Schiff base extractants used are N-salicylideneaniline (HSA), N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalidene)aniline (HNA) and N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalidene)naphthylamine (HNN). In the absence of SDS, the estimated extraction constants of the three ligands revealed that the extraction efficiency increased in the order HNN < HNA < HSA. The extraction of Cu(II) was remarkably enhanced with HL upon the addition of the SDS surfactant. It was found that SDS did not intervene in the coordination sphere of the Cu(II). The calculated synergistic constant fell in the order HNN > HNA > HSA. A synergistic extraction mechanism of copper(II) with ortho-hydroxy Schiff bases in the presence of the surfactant has been proposed.