Chemical deposition of zirconium doped tin silicate ion-exchanger and its characterization

Doping of inorganic ion-exchange material tin silicate with zirconium ion by sol-gel technique was conducted for the production of a novel ion-exchanger. Undoped and doped tin silicate has been characterized by elemental analysis (X-ray fluorescence), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction studies. The structures of two ion-exchangers were identified and the empirical formulas found as SnSi2O6 center dot 6H(2)O and SnZr4Si4O12 center dot 16H(2)O for tin silicate and zirconium doped tin silicate, respectively. The effect of zirconium ion concentration of the doped tin silicate on the crystalline size and strain of tin silicate was investigated. The probable structure of both materials was assessed by the ChemDraw Ultra program. Finally, application of these materials for the treatment of radionuclides in terms of capacity measurements was investigated.