ELECTROANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE INDUSTRIAL EXTRACTANT LIX-54

The voltammetric behaviour of 1-phenyldecane-1,3-dione, the active com ponent in the commercial extractant LIX 54, was studied in the aqueous -alcoholic medium 0.1 mol l(-1) KCl-methanol (60 + 40 v/v) as a functi on of pH using polarographic and cyclic voltammetric techniques. Reduc tion processes of the extractant depending on the acidity conditions a re proposed. The electrochemical reduction of the industrial formulati on (LIX 54) under the same experimental conditions was also studied an d found to exhibit similar behaviour. In order to determine the percen tage of the active component in the commercial extractant, differentia l-pulse polarographic methods for the determination of 1-phenyldecane- 1,3-dione were developed and compared with the results obtained for LI X 54.