In this study, two
extractants, hexakis[(dimethylthiocarbamoyl)oxy]thiacalix[6]arene
(1) and tetrakis[(dimethylthiocarbamoyl)oxy]thiacalix[4]arene
(2), were synthesized by the reaction of dimethylthiocarbamoyl
chloride with p-tert-butylthiacalix[n]arenes (n = 6 and 4) and characterized
using 1H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopies, elemental analysis,
and fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). These compounds
were extensively evaluated for the extraction of Pd(II) ions from
HCl media and solutions of platinum-group metals from automotive catalyst
residues, using various solvents. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to have higher Pd(II)-ion extraction abilities
(0.57 and 0.48 g/L, respectively) than the native p-tert-butylthiacalix[6]arene (3) and p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene (4) (0.46 and 0.20 g/L, respectively), using 1 mM extractant and 9.4
mM Pd(II)-ion solutions in HCl media. The extractant–Pd(II)
complexes were characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis,
XRD, Job’s continuous method, and TGA/DTA. Stripping of the
Pd(II) ions from the extractants was performed using 1 M thiourea,
thereby enabling the reuse of the extractants.