Degradation of organothiophosphorous extractant Cyanex 301.

The resistance of extractants to light is important during industrial extraction processes. A photodegradation of the organothiophosphorous extractant Cyanex 301 in toluene and hexane as organic diluent and the identification of possible degradation products using FT-IR and GC-MS techniques were performed. The influence of copper(II) and cobalt(II) ions on the stability of the extractant under UV-vis light exposure was also studied. The changes in the percentage composition of individual components of the extractant depended on the types of organic diluents and copper or cobalt ions. During this process, copper complex irradiation precipitation of black powder and photooxidation of toluene were observed. Based on these results we proposed a hypothetical mechanism of photodegradation of extractant Cyanex 301.