Advanced Analysis of X-ray Fluorescence Measurements of the Interfacial Density of Eu Ions at Liquid–Liquid Interfaces for Solvent Back-Extraction

Abstract

X-ray fluorescence near total reflection (XFNTR) is the primary technique used to measure the element-specific interfacial density of ions at liquid–liquid interfaces. Fluorescence from ions in the bulk liquids can complicate the determination of the interfacial density; consequently, measurements have been previously limited to samples without ions in the upper phase and with concentrations on the order of 10 μM or less in the lower phase. We modify the analysis of XFNTR data to account for ions in both bulk phases, then demonstrate its use in the context of rare-earth separations processes. In a model of ion stripping (i.e., back-extraction), dodecane solutions of di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP) loaded with Eu(III) at the 1 mM level are placed in contact with either pure water or aqueous solutions of nitric or citric acid at pH 3. XFNTR measurements of equilibrated, quiescent samples reveal that citric acid solutions produce a disproportionately large depletion of ions from the interface compared to that from the bulk organic solution, whereas stripping by pure water or nitric acid solutions is negligible. This advance in the methodology of XFNTR may have broad applicability to the investigation of metal ions in chemical and biological processes at liquid–liquid interfaces.