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Tuneable separation of gold by selective precipitation using a simple and recyclable diamide

Author

Listed:
  • Luke M. M. Kinsman

    (University of Edinburgh)

  • Bryne T. Ngwenya

    (University of Edinburgh)

  • Carole A. Morrison

    (University of Edinburgh)

  • Jason B. Love

    (University of Edinburgh)

Abstract

The efficient separation of metals from ores and secondary sources such as electronic waste is necessary to realising circularity in metal supply. Precipitation processes are increasingly popular and are reliant on designing and understanding chemical recognition to achieve selectivity. Here we show that a simple tertiary diamide precipitates gold selectively from aqueous acidic solutions, including from aqua regia solutions of electronic waste. The X-ray crystal structure of the precipitate displays an infinite chain of diamide cations interleaved with tetrachloridoaurate. Gold is released from the precipitate on contact with water, enabling ligand recycling. The diamide is highly selective, with its addition to 29 metals in 2 M HCl resulting in 70% gold uptake and minimal removal of other metals. At 6 M HCl, complete collection of gold, iron, tin, and platinum occurs, demonstrating that adaptable selective metal precipitation is controlled by just one variable. This discovery could be exploited in metal refining and recycling processes due to its tuneable selectivity under different leaching conditions, the avoidance of organic solvents inherent to biphasic extraction, and the straightforward recycling of the precipitant.

Suggested Citation

  • Luke M. M. Kinsman & Bryne T. Ngwenya & Carole A. Morrison & Jason B. Love, 2021. "Tuneable separation of gold by selective precipitation using a simple and recyclable diamide," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26563-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26563-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zhichang Liu & Marco Frasconi & Juying Lei & Zachary J. Brown & Zhixue Zhu & Dennis Cao & Julien Iehl & Guoliang Liu & Albert C. Fahrenbach & Youssry Y. Botros & Omar K. Farha & Joseph T. Hupp & Chad , 2013. "Selective isolation of gold facilitated by second-sphere coordination with α-cyclodextrin," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-9, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Huang Wu & Yu Wang & Chun Tang & Leighton O. Jones & Bo Song & Xiao-Yang Chen & Long Zhang & Yong Wu & Charlotte L. Stern & George C. Schatz & Wenqi Liu & J. Fraser Stoddart, 2023. "High-efficiency gold recovery by additive-induced supramolecular polymerization of β-cyclodextrin," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Jie Luo & Xiao Luo & Mo Xie & Hao-Zhen Li & Haiyan Duan & Hou-Gan Zhou & Rong-Jia Wei & Guo-Hong Ning & Dan Li, 2022. "Selective and rapid extraction of trace amount of gold from complex liquids with silver(I)-organic frameworks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Seung Su Shin & Youngkyun Jung & Sungkwon Jeon & Sung-Joon Park & Su-Jin Yoon & Kyung-Won Jung & Jae-Woo Choi & Jung-Hyun Lee, 2024. "Efficient recovery and recycling/upcycling of precious metals using hydrazide-functionalized star-shaped polymers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Joseph G. O’Connell-Danes & Bryne T. Ngwenya & Carole A. Morrison & Jason B. Love, 2022. "Selective separation of light rare-earth elements by supramolecular encapsulation and precipitation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-7, December.
    5. Fei Li & Jiuyi Zhu & Pengzhan Sun & Mingrui Zhang & Zhenqing Li & Dingxin Xu & Xinyu Gong & Xiaolong Zou & A. K. Geim & Yang Su & Hui-Ming Cheng, 2022. "Highly efficient and selective extraction of gold by reduced graphene oxide," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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