Ion exchange separation of antimony in highly pure lead metals

In concentrated hydrochloric acid solutions, Sb (V) was found to be strongly adsorbed by strong base anion exchange regin. Since it has been reported that Pb (II) is not taken up in this range of HCl concentration, this behavior of Sb (V) was applied to the separation of μg amounts of antimony in highly pure lead metals. Radiochemical studies using 124Sb as a tracer proved that the antimony species obtained by dissolving the sample in dilute nitric acid can be converted into adsorbable form by heating with strong hydrochloric acid. It was also demonstrated that Sn (IV) can be separated by elution with 1 M HNO3 prior to that of Sb (V) with 1 M NaOH. Methods of anion exchange separation of antimony in pure lead metals by both column and batch operation are proposed and some preliminary data are presented.