Substituted ethan phosphonic acid esters as reagents for the separation of molybdenum from rhenium by solvent extraction.

New esters of the ethan phosphonic acids have been synthesized and their extraction properties studied with respect to Mo(VI), Re(VII), Fe(III),Au(III),Tl(III) and Sb(V). A possibility is shown for the analytical separation of molybdenum from rhenium (beta = 700). The state of these new extraction agents in carbon tetrachloride solution, and the mechanism of the extraction processes, have been investigated by means of infrared spectra.