An experimental study of hydrolytic behavior of thulium in basic and near-neutral solutions

Hydrolytic equilibria of Tm (III) in KOH solutions were studied at 25°C. A spectrophotometry with m-cresol purple and 2-naphthol as pH indicators was used at an ionic strength of not more than 0.0005. The results indicate that in freshly prepared solutions at pH ranging between 6 and 10 Tm is present as , , and . The stepwise stability constants of hydroxide complexes calculated at zero ionic strength were obtained as coefficient of linear regression equations from the graph of optical densities of the indicators in Tm solutions at varying pH.