THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY OF THE RARE-EARTH CHLOROSULFATES AND SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF YTTRIUM CHLOROSULFATE

The thin layer chromatographic (TLC) behavior of chlorosulfates of the rare earths (RE) Y3+, Ce3+, Sm3+, Nd3+, Eu3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, Dy3+, and Y b3+ on TLC plates coated with plain, mixed and impregnated adsorbents is described. Various aqueous salt solutions were used as the impregna nts. Most of these metal complexes can be successfully separated from their mixtures. Variation of R-F values on plain, mixed and impregnate d sorbent beds was achieved. Silica gel H yields more compact spots th an silica gel G or other conventional coating materials. As eluent, aq ueous salt solutions were found to be more suitable for selective sepa rations than organic solvents. A linear correlation was established be tween R-F values and ionic radii or magnetic moments of RE chlorosulfa tes. Spectrophotometry was used for the quantitation of yttrium chloro sulfate after its TLC separation from neodymium and ytterbium chlorosu lfates. The molar absorptivity was 5.0 x 10(3) L mol(-1) cm(-1).