Kinetic analysis of palladium(II) adsorption process on condensed-tannin gel based on redox reaction models.

We have developed a novel recovery system of palladium (Pd) from wastes such as spent catalysts or scraps, using tannin gel particles synthesized from condensed-tannin molecules. The Pd(II) ionic species are reduced to metallic Pd(0) on the network of the tannin gel: a two-electron transfer from the tannin gel to Pd(II). The kinetic study of the electron transfer was performed with a multiple reaction model containing an intermediate step (formation of a ligand-substituted Pd(II)-tannin inner sphere complex), resulting in a better fit with the experimental results than with the single reaction model (outer sphere redox reaction), which means that the inner sphere redox mechanism is an appropriate reaction model for the Pd(II) adsorption process. Because the intermediate is included in the adsorption amount, the adsorption process can be divided into two steps: fast adsorption by the ligand substitution at the initial stage and slow adsorption by the subsequent redox reaction after the ligand substitution reaches an equilibrium state, with different adsorption rates between the Pd(II) ionic species (PdCl(+)>PdCl(2)>PdCl(3)(-),PdCl(4)(2-)).