Patent ID: 7300587

Claim:
A process for oxidizing trivalent arsenic to pentavalent arsenic or trivalent antimony to pentavalent antimony comprising the steps of: (a) providing a vessel containing a water-insoluble polymeric oxidizing medium having a plurality of oxidizing sites that comprise a plurality of polymerized N-pyridinium vinylbenzyl triiodide or tribromide moieties whose pyridinium rings bear two substituents, R 1 and R 2 , that are independently a hydrido or a C 1 -C 4 alkyl group, said polymerized N-pyridinium vinylbenzyl triiodide or tribromide moieties corresponding in structure to the formula (b) introducing an influent aqueous solution having trivalent arsenic or trivalent antimony to the vessel to contact the insoluble oxidizing medium; (c) maintaining said solution in contact with said insoluble medium for a time period sufficient for said trivalent arsenic or trivalent antimony in the influent to react with said oxidizing sites to form a pentavalent arsenic-containing or pentavalent antimony-containing sample solution and a reduced medium; and (d) separating the pentavalent arsenic-containing or antimony-containing sample solution from the reduced medium.