Chlorocobaltate-Enabled Selective Separation of CoCl2 from Mixed Chloride and Nitrate Salts of Mn, Co, and Ni

Described here is the effect of anionic metalates─chlorocobaltate and nitratocobaltate─on the heat-driven separation of the critical element cobalt from potentially competing transition metal salts. Resins bearing the hexadentate glycolamide receptor L (PS-L) exhibit sorption capacities, Q = 1.33 mmol/g for CoCl₂ and Q = 0.66 mmol/g for Co(NO₃)₂, as inferred from sorption isotherm studies. This trend runs counter to the typical Hofmeister series for anion selectivity. Ion chromatographic analysis of a mixed CoCl₂/Co(NO₃)₂ solution revealed an increase in chloride content from 55 mol % to 90 mol % after a single thermally driven catch-and-release cycle. This chloride-selective behavior was recapitulated in a mixed-metal cation, mixed-anion system containing the chloride and nitrate salts of Mn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) at near-equimolar concentrations. PS-L also displayed enhanced selectivity for Co using this mixed stock solution as observed by ICP-OES. In contrast, for a nitrate-only solution containing Mn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II), PS-L showed increased affinity for Mn, with its proportion rising from 36.6 mol % to 58.1% after a single catch-and-release cycle. Density functional theory calculations support the suggestion that the enhanced uptake of Co(II) in chloride-rich media arises from the high thermodynamic stability of [CoCl₄]^2-, which facilitates its outer-sphere coordination to cationic resin-bound cobalt species. Single crystal X-ray crystallographic analyzes of L•MCl₂ (M = Mn, Co, Ni) and L•M(NO₃)₂ (M = Mn, Co) confirmed metal complexation by L in the solid state and the concomitant formation of metalate counteranions. The present study highlights a relatively simple approach for separating cobalt from its transition metal congeners.