Functionalised inorganic oxide products and their use in the removal of heavy metals, transition metals and actinide metals from solution.

摘要

The invention relates to functionalised inorganic oxide products and their use in the removal of heavy metals. transition metals and activide metals from solution. The product is obtained by reacting an inorganic solid containing surface hydroxyl groups such as silica with a compound of formula: wherein R is a divalent organic group containing up to 20 carbon atoms; R<1>, R<2> and R<3> are independently -OR<8> groups wherein R<8> represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl, aryl or acyl group containing up to 20 carbon atoms; R<4>, R<5>, R<6> and R<7> represent independently hydrogen atoms, alkyl or aryl groups containing up to 20 carbon atoms and n and m are integers in the range 1 to 5. The product is particularly suitable for removing rhodium from solutions obtained from rhodium catalysed reactions in which a carboxylic acid, an anhydride, an ester, an alcohol or an ether is produced.