Anomalies in the spectrophotometric and extractive behaviour of zirconium and hafnium - Evidence of a synergistic effect

In this work, some observations that confirm non-specific interactions betw een zirconium and hafnium are presented. This phenomenon, which induces sig nificant differences between the spectrophotometric and extractive behaviou r of the isolated elements related to their mixtures, indicates the existen ce of an important synergistic effect on the depolymerisation reactions inv olved in the aqueous chemistry of the elements. All experimental evidences suggest that the presence of zirconium can minimise the polymerisation of h afnium, favouring its reaction with the studied complexing agent. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.