REVIEW PAPER
Speciation and Fractionation of Less-Studied
Technology-Critical Elements (Nb, Ta, Ga, In, Ge,
Tl, Te): A Review
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Institute of Environmental Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
34 M. Skłodowska-Curie Street, 41-819, Zabrze, Poland
Submission date: 2020-06-10
Final revision date: 2020-08-31
Acceptance date: 2020-09-05
Online publication date: 2020-12-30
Publication date: 2021-02-05
Corresponding author
Magdalena Jabłońska-Czapla
Institute of Environmental Enginering, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 M. Curie-Sklodowska St., 41-819, Zabrze, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2021;30(2):1477-1486
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ABSTRACT
Technology-critical elements (TCE) are of great relevance in the development of key emerging
technologies, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, electronics and the aerospace industry. A
sudden increase in industrial demand in support of an emerging technology or unexpected cutoff from
a supply of critical minerals can have a drastic impact on national security and economic health. The
growing release of TCEs requires understanding their mobility, reactivity, and chemical transformations
in the environment, which are critically dependent on their chemical form. Here we review the
speciation of less studied technology-critical elements (LSTCEs): Nb, Ta, Ga, In, Ge, Tl and Te. We
discuss the trends in analytical techniques using in TCEs speciation. The development of analytical
techniques significantly increases the interest of researchers in these elements and species. In particular,
there is still little information in the literature on the speciation of niobium and tantalum.