Differential Coordination Chemistry with Hydrogen Peroxide: A Pathway Toward Selective Separation of Tungsten from Molybdenum

The efficient separation of tungsten and molybdenum represents a pivotal challenge for the effective, high-value-added utilization and recycling of these strategic metal resources. Developing clean and recyclable separation processes has become a major focus of research, reflecting a growing emphasis on sustainability. This study proposes a method for the efficient and deep separation of molybdenum and tungsten from tungstate-based mixed oxides by leveraging their differential coordination properties with hydrogen peroxide. The composites prepared by mechanical mixing were characterized using techniques such as ICP, SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The results demonstrated a significant difference in the dissolution behavior of MoO3 and WO3 in hydrogen peroxide, indicating a substantial coordination disparity between MoO3 and WO3 toward H2O2, which can be effectively exploited for Mo/W separation. Additionally, hydrothermal synthesis was employed to simulate the separation under more realistic conditions. In this study, hydrogen peroxide was selected as an effective reagent for separation, and the influence of multiple variables was systematically evaluated. The results demonstrated that under optimal conditions—specifically at a molar ratio nMo/nW = 40, a temperature of 65 °C, nH2O2/nM = 1.25 and a reaction time of 1.5 h—a maximum separation factor of 124 between tungsten and molybdenum was achieved. This process exhibits significant potential for industrial application due to its low consumption of H2O2, large separation factor, and cost-effectiveness.