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In this study, four novel functionalized ionic liquids ([C4mim][DDTC], [C5mim][DDTC], [C6mim][DDTC], and [BMPip][DDTC]) were synthesized and used for the selective extraction of Pd(II) from an HCl medium containing Pt(IV), Pd(II), and Rh(III). The extraction mechanism was investigated using Job’s plots, UV–Vis, SXRD, and MS analysis. A mechanistic investigation revealed the formation of hydrophobic extraction complexes Pd(DDTC)2 and PdClDDTC via coordination between [DDTC]− and Pd(II). In addition, the solubility and polarity of the solutes were investigated using DFT calculations to determine the optimal extractant and diluent. From the results of the theoretical analysis, [C5mim][DDTC]/CHCl3 was selected as the optimum system for the selective extraction of Pd(II). The effects that factors have on Pd(II) extraction, including temperature, [C5mim][DDTC] amount, HCl concentration, and O/A ratio, were investigated and optimized using single-factor and response surface experiments. Under the optimized conditions, Pd(II) extraction efficiencies were higher than 99%, and the separation factors (βPd(II)/Pt(IV) and βPd(II)/Rh(III)) were greater than 104. After extraction, Pd and Rh were directly recovered from the organic and aqueous phases via photocatalytic reduction, respectively. TEM, XPS, and PXRD results revealed that the resulting nanoparticles were Rh(0) or Pd(0). The recovery of Pd and Rh exceeded 95%. Overall, a simple hydrometallurgical process with low reagent consumption was developed to yield nanometer-scale Pd(0) and Rh(0) from simulated secondary resource leaching solutions.

In this study, based on a cyano-functionalized ionic liquid, 1-nitrile-1-octylpyrrole bromide ([C8Y3Pr]Br), a [C8Y3Pr]Br/cyclohexane/tributyl phosphate (TBP)/NaCl microemulsion system was constructed and used for the extraction of Pd(II) and preparation of Pd nanoparticles from multimetal solutions. The key extraction parameters including vibration time, [C8Y3Pr]Br concentration, phase ratio (RW/O), and HCl concentration were evaluated. Compared with other ionic-liquid microemulsion systems, the cyano-functionalized ionic liquid [C8Y3Pr]Br microemulsion system showed excellent extraction performance for Pd(II). Almost all Pd(II) was extracted (>98.0%) from a multimetal solution using the microemulsion system, while the separation factors (βPd/M) of [C8Y3Pr]Br-based microemulsions for Pd(II) with Cu2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Co2+, and Mg2+ exceeded 1.0 × 103. The mechanism extracting Pd(II) using [C8Y3Pr]Br was confirmed to be an anion-exchange reaction via Job’s method, spectral analysis (UV, FTIR), and DFT calculations. Alcohols and hydrazine hydrate were used as demulsifiers, and Pd nanoparticles were directly obtained from the microemulsion phase. The Pd nanoparticles were identified by TEM, XPS, and XRD analyses. The chemical structures of extracted species based on the microemulsion system and the mechanism of demulsification of alcohols were studied. Thus, an effective new process was developed in this study for the direct preparation of Pd nanoparticles from mixed metal solutions via solvent extraction.

Developing an efficient method to recover and reuse soil-base lead (Pb) poses significant challenges. Herein, we designed a remediation method to achieve the dual goal of separating and reusing Pb from soil based on Bacillus megaterium-secreted surfactin with pH-response. Under weakly alkaline, B. megaterium-secreted surfactin efficiently captured Pb(II) from soil and also converted it into biological Pb/PbO nanoparticles (bio-Pb/PbO NPs). Further, surfactin’s sensitivity to pH enables bio-Pb/PbO NPs to be readily separated from the soil through simple pH adjustments. The highest yield of bio-Pb/PbO NPs (77.54%) was achieved at an initial concentration of 1 mg/g Pb(II). The recovered bio-Pb/PbO NPs showed a mesoporous structure and an average size of ~47 nm. More importantly, bio-Pb/PbO NPs exhibited highly efficient catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction in 1 M KOH. These results demonstrated that this method efficiently recovered and converted Pb into high value-added NPs, and was thereby a sustainable and feasible technique for Pb(II) recovery and reuse. As such, this methodology offers a new, efficient, and practical approach for sustainable remediation of heavy metal contamination in soils.

Although phosphonium-based ionic liquids (ILs) have become popular green solvents for the separation of precious metals, these solvents have not been used thus far to recover Pd(II) from alkaline cyanide solutions. In this study, three novel phosphonium-based ILs, viz. tributyl(2-ethylhexyl) phosphonium bromide (TBEHPB), trioctyl (2-ethylhexyl) phosphonium bromide (TOEHPB), and trioctyl undecyl phosphonium bromide (TOUPB), were synthesized, respectively, and these ILs were used for the recovery of Pd(CN)42− for the first time. With the increase in the length of the alkyl chain in the phosphonium cation, the extraction percentage of Pd(II) increased. Under optimum conditions (i.e., contact time of 5 min, pH of 10.5, and temperature of 298 K), the TOUPB system exhibited a Pd(II) extraction percentage of greater than 99.0%. Furthermore, the TOUPB system exhibited excellent selectivity for Pd(II) in a mixed solution (separation factors of βPd/Fe and βPd/Co were greater than 2.0 × 103). The Pd(II) recovery percentage was still greater than 90.0% after five consecutive extraction-stripping cycles. The Job’s method, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy revealed that the extraction mechanism is ion exchange. The supramolecular structure of the extraction complex was established on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and Karl Fischer titration, and the extraction mechanism was further described at the molecular structure level. This study provides a new process for recovering Pd(II) from an alkaline cyanide medium.

In this study, five new imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized, and their efficiencies toward the precipitation of PtCl62− in HCl media were evaluated. The prepared compounds were identified as 1-alkyl-3-propylimidazolium bromide ([CnPIm]Br, n = 12, 14, and 16), 1-tetradecyl-2-aminoethylimidazolium bromide ([C14PImNH2]Br), and 1-tetradecyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide ([C14PIm]Br). FT-IR, 1H NMR, and continuous variation method analysis were used to establish the ion-exchange model of Pt(IV) precipitation. To extract Pt(IV) from mixed metal solutions, and a novel mixed-ILs system was obtained through the dissolution of 1-tetradecyl-3-propylimidazolium bromide ([C14PIm]Br) in hydrophobic ILs ([C8MIm][PF6]). The mixed-ILs ([C14PIm]Br/[C8MIm][PF6]) exhibited excellent extraction efficiency compared to single [C8MIm][PF6]. Also, Pt(IV) ions were selectively separated from mixed metal solutions containing Rh(III), Fe3+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ metal ions. The separation factor βPt/M (M: Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, or Rh) was above 105 for all systems. The optimal potentiostatic deposition voltage of Pt was estimated to −1.75 V. Direct electrodeposition from ILs containing [C14PIm]Br/[C8MIm][PF6] with Pt(IV), more than 97% of Pt(IV) was reduced to Pt(0) on the copper cathode, while the system could also be regenerated for PtCl62− extraction. Surface characterization techniques like SEM, TEM, and XPS identified the deposited silver-grey films on cathode surfaces as Pt metal with metallic luster.

Metal-cyanide complexes are hazardous and toxic pollutants that can accumulate in organisms, and their natural degradation is difficult. These complexes are primarily present in alkaline wastewater effluents, and an effective technique for their removal must be developed. Herein, we have successfully synthesized a novel quaternary ammonium-functionalized Zr4+ metal-organic resin (MOR) (H16[Zr6O16(MPATP)4]Cl8·xH2O, MPATP = 2-((1-methylpyridin-1-ium-2-ylmethyl)amino)-terephthalic acid), which we refer to as MOR-2-QAS. With alkali resistance, high surface area, and high anion exchange capacity, it acts by introducing positively charged pyridine into the organic ligand. The experimental results indicate that MOR-2-QAS becomes rapidly attached and efficiently removes Pt(CN)42−, Pd(CN)42−, Co(CN)63−, and Fe(CN)63−. Valuable metals (Pt(II) and Pd(II)) can be effectively recovered from the simulated wastewater containing four-component cyanide complexes via the two-step elution process. The recovery efficiency of Pt(II) and Pd(II) was higher than 90.0% after three adsorption-desorption cycles. The adsorption mechanism, which proceeded via ionic association (ion-exchange) and complied with the minimum surface charge density experiential principle, was confirmed using density functional theory. This study provides ideas for developing efficient and stable MORs to enable the simultaneous removal of multiple metal–cyanide complexes and recovery of valuable metals.