EXAFS investigations of strontium complexation by a polymer-supported crown ether

Extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) measurements have been used to probe the coordination environment of strontium ion sorbed from aqueous nitric acid solutions on an extraction chromatographic resin comprising a macrocyclic polyether dispersed on a polymeric support. The strontium EXAFS of the metal ions sorbed onto the resin are consistent with a 1:1:2 strontium:crown ether:nitrate stoichiometry in which the strontium is enveloped in the crown ether ring and both nitrate anions are coordinated to the strontium as bidentate ligands. This is the same structure and stoichiometry observed for complexes in liquid–liquid extraction when the macrocyclic polyether is dissolved in a diluent with low water miscibility like 1-octanol.