Questions on dioctyl sulfide or dioctyl disulfide

[superbaekggu]

Hi, I have been reading over papers regarding dioctyl sulfide and dioctyl disulfide starting from Mr. Nuzzo's article in Journal of the American Chemical Society. Papers that I have read got me to believe that the sulfides above are so much related to metal extraction, such as gold and palladium. Here are the questions (FYI, I majored in econ; sorry if the questions are rudimentary).

1. Are dioctyl sulfide or dioctyl disulfide used in gold refining plants?
2. If so, I would like to know the mechanism : why are they used?
3. Apart from gold refinery, are there any other applications you've heard regarding those sulfides?

I would very appreciate it if you take your time to help me understand these chemicals better.

 

[Lou]

1. No, no one uses them because they're the devil to strip free of gold
2. For lack of a better word, the sulfide aspect "binds" the gold while the two "fatty" octyl 8 carbon chains keeps it in the solvent.
3. It's used for palladium extraction AFTER gold is removed.


Would suggest avoiding it at all costs if your goal is to refine gold!