Extraction of tungsten with 8-hydroxyquinoline and some of its derivatives

The extraction of tungsten by chloroform solutions of 8-hydroxyquinoline(I), 2-methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline(II), 5,7-dibromo-8-hydroxyquinoline(III) and 8-mercaptoquinoline(IV), as a function of the concentration of tungsten and reagent and the acidity of the aqueous phase, has been studied. Evidence was obtained for the quantitative extraction of tungsten over a wide range of acidity. The degree of extraction of tungsten at 10(-5)M concentration with I,III and IV gives two maxima when plotted against acidity. The extraction maximum for the more acidic solutions lies in the region where the reagents exist in the protonated form and its position depends on the reagent used. It is suggested that different tungsten complexes are extracted, depending on the acidity of the aqueous phase.