Reversed-phase partition chromatographic separations with 2-ethylhexyl dihydrogen phosphate and di-2-ethylhexyl hydrogen phosphate.

Di-2-ethylhexyl hydrogen phosphate (HDEHP) and 2-ethylhexyl dihydrogen phosphate (H(2)MEHP) are compared as stationary phases in reversed-phase chromatography of selected lanthanides, strontium, yttrium, barium, manganese(II), iron(III), cobalt(II), nickel, gold(III), platinum(IV), palladium(II) and silver. Chromatograms were mainly developed with hydrochloric acid at various concentrations. In general H(2)MEHP was found to be less satisfactory than HDEHP. Development of chromatograms by dilute aqueous electrolytes on paper is slower and separations of chemically similar metals such as lanthanides is not encouraging. However, movement of lanthanides by EDTA at pH 3 in an aqueous sodium perchlorate medium occurs only on H(2)MEHP-treated paper. Good separations of iron(III) and cobalt(II) are possible on paper treated with either ester, and gold(III) and platinum(IV) are separated on HDEHP-impregnated paper. Column methods for the separation of carrier-free gold-199 and iron-59 from macro-amounts of neutron-irradiated platinum and cobalt, respectively, have been developed.