A method for the separation of gold and copper ions by selective precipitation from ethanol was developed and applied for the recycling of these two metals from waste electronic components. A series of pyrithione derivatives were synthesized, within which the most suitable ligand – 4-(trifluoromethy)pyrithione – for the selective precipitation of copper was selected. Optimal conditions for the quantitative separation of ions were determined. Representative gold and copper complexes were synthesized and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, CHNS elemental analysis, UV-Vis, and IR spectroscopy. The developed separation method was applied for the recycling of gold and copper from model solutions and subsequently from gold-plated connector fingers on printed circuit boards.
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