Thin layer chromatographic separation and recovery of gold and silver from secondary sources

Thin-layer chromatography coupled with spectrophotometry and titrimetry has been used to separate Au3+ and Ag+ from accompanying metal ions. The method has been used to recover gold and silver from secondary sources. Silica gel G layers developed with aqueous N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide solution (1.2 mM) and alumina G layers developed with aqueous ammonium sulphate solution (2.5 M) were found most suitable for the separation of Au3+ and Ag+ respectively. The recovery of Au3+ from printed circuit boards and Ag+ from a variety of silver-containing spent materials was approximately 91-95%.