Synthesis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-supported nanocomposite cation exchanger: removal and recovery of Cu2+ from synthetic, pharmaceutical and alloy samples

A new surfactant-based nanocomposite cation exchanger, sodium dodecyl sulfate-Th(IV) tungstate (SDS-TT) was prepared by the sol-gel method. The SDS-TT was characterized by FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, EDS and TEM. The distribution studies for various metal ions on SDS-TT were performed in different acidic mediums. On the basis of distribution coefficient values, SDS-TT was found to be selective for Cu2+ metal ion. SDS-TT was successfully used for the quantitative separation of Cu2+ from the synthetic mixture, pharmaceutical formulation and brass sample. The regeneration studies were performed which showed a decrease in the recovery of Cu2+ from 88 to 70 % after seven consecutive cycles.