Separation of strontium from associated elements with selective specific resin and extraction chromatography

In this paper, separation of Sr from associated elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg, and Ba) was carried out using an extraction chromatographic column packed with Sr selective specific resin consisting of an octanol solution of 4,4′(5′)-bis( t -butylcyclohexo)-18-crown-6 sorbed on an inert polymeric support. Using 8.0   mol/L HNO 3 as the eluent, Ba and associated elements were eluted immediately from the column, whereas Sr was strongly retained. The adsorbed Sr could then be stripped from the column as the eluent was changed to 0.05   mol/L HNO 3 . Complete Sr/Ba separation was demonstrated to be feasible in that Ba could be washed from the column leaving pure Sr by adequate rinsing with 8.0   mol/L HNO 3 . Furthermore, matrix effect could be effectively eliminated and the selectivity of the method was improved. The method was applied for the determination of Sr in the high purity barium carbonate (BaCO 3 ) product and seawater. The recoveries of Sr in 2 samples were determined to be 93.2% and 109%, respectively.