The disodium, dilithium, dipotassium and distrontium forms of cerium phosph
ate were prepared from their corresponding mono-forms. The chemical content
of these inorganic ion exchangers have been characterized by inductively c
oupled plasma (ICP) spectroscopy. The ion exchange properties of these cati
on exchangers, their chemical stability and selectivity for certain ions we
re investigated. It was found that, by introducing different salts into the
reaction mixture used to prepare cerium phosphate, robust cation exchange
materials of reproducible composition with a good cation capacity, and suit
able for column use, are produced. All the ion exchangers with the exceptio
n of CeP (dipotassium) show excellent selectivity towards certain cations,
thereby increasing the potential practical applications of these inorganic
exchangers.