An unusual extraction behavior of americium (III) and dioxouranium (VI) from picric acid medium using 18-crown-6 as neutral oxodonor

The extraction behavior of Am³⁺ and UO₂ ²⁺ is investigated employing chloroform solution of 18-crown-6 as the organic phase and picrate solution at pH 3.0 as the aqueous phase. In contrast to the commonly observed behavior, the extraction of Am³⁺ is preferred to that of UO₂ ²⁺. This unusual separation behavior is investigated as a function of several variable parameters such as crown ether concentration, picric acid concentration, inert electrolyte concentration, nature of diluent etc. Thermodynamic parameters are also evaluated.