Isotope effects of neodymium in different ligands exchange systems studied by ion exchange displacement chromatography

The isotope effects of neodymium in Nd-glycolate ligand exchange system were studied by using ion exchange chromatography. The separation coefficients of neodymium isotopes, ε’s, were calculated from the observed isotopic ratios at the front and rear boundaries of the neodymium adsorption band. The values of separation coefficients of neodymium isotopes, ε’s, for the Nd-glycolate ligand exchange system were compared with those of Nd-malate and Nd-citrate, which indicated that the isotope effects of neodymium as studied by the three ligands takes the following direction Malate > Citrate > Glycolate. This order agrees with the number of available sites for complexation of each ligand. The values of the plate height, HETP of Nd in Nd-ligand exchange systems were also calculated.