Ionic liquid modified silica gel for the sorption of americium(III) and europium(III) from dilute nitric acid medium

The imidazolium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate moiety was chemically attached on silica gel by chemical modification. The resulting product ([SG-Im]+ [DEHP]−) was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and elemental analysis. The sorption behavior of Am(III) and Eu(III) on [SG-Im]+ [DEHP]− was studied from dilute nitric acid medium for the separation of Am(III) and Eu(III) from aqueous waste. The effect of time, concentrations of nitric acid and europium in aqueous phase on the distribution coefficient (K d) was studied. The study indicated the possibility of using modified silica for the separation of Eu(III) from Am(III) with high separation factors (>50 at 0.1 M HNO3).