Extraction studies of Am(III) and Eu(III) with a tris-bipyridyl macrobicyclic ligand

Complexation of Am(III) with a tris-bipyridine cryptand (L) has been carried out in a nonaqueous medium (CH₃CN–CHCl₃). Subsequently the complexation behaviour was investigated using the reverse extraction tracer technique with dinonyl naphthalenesulphonic acid (HD) in toluene as the organic phase and varying concentration of HCl (upto 2M) as the aqueous phase. Equilibrium is attained in the two-phase system at a rate dependent on the hydrogen ion concentration in the aqueous phase. Whereas it takes only a few minutes to attain the equilibrium state at pH 6.0, a phase contact period of 50 days was insufficient if the acidity is greater than 0.4M, presumably due to the slow dissociation of the cryptate formed. The large enhancement in the distribution ratio value in the synergistic system with 1M HCl as the aqueous phase under non-equilibrium conditions is employed for the analytical separation of Am(III) from Eu(III).     

Role of ligand softness and diluent on the separation behaviour of Am(III) and Eu(III)

Separation of trivalent actinides (An(III)) and lanthanides (Ln(III)) is a challenging task in the nuclear fuel cycle due to their similar charge and chemical behaviour. Some soft donor ligands show selectivity for An(III) over Ln(III) due to the formation of stronger covalent bonds with the former. The extraction behaviour of Am(III) and Eu(III) is studied in the present work with a mixture of Cyanex-301 (bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)di-thiophosphinic acid) with several various ??N??, ??O?? or ??S?? donor neutral ligands. Comparison of the data was done with that of the oxygen donor analogue of Cyanex-301, i.e. Cyanex-272 (bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)phosphinic acid). Effect of the organic diluent on the extraction behaviour of Am(III) using Cyanex-301 in presence of ??N?? donor synergists was also studied. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations were carried out using GAMESS software and charges on the donor atoms were calculated which helped in understanding the co-ordination chemistry of the ligands and explained the separation behaviour.     

Effective separation of Am(III) and Cm(III) using a DGA resin via the selective oxidation of Am(III) to Am(V)

This paper deals with concept design and assessment of a process for the recovery of isotopically modified molybdenum from irradiated nuclear CerMet fuels containing the transuranium element oxides in a metallic molybdenum matrix. The recovery of isotopically modified Mo should enable re-use of this valuable resource especially in the case of uranium-free fuels/targets for accelerator-driven transmuters. The process concept proposed is a modification of the standard hydrometallurgical way of molybdenum processing. Further, the most significant expected radionuclidic impurities in the molybdate raffinate were predicted. Separation of these impurities from the concentrated molybdate solution will be described in the following parts of this mini-series.

     

First-principles study of the separation of Am(III)/Cm(III) from Eu(III) with Cyanex301

The experimentally observed extraction complexes of trivalent lanthanide Eu(III) and actinide Am(III)/Cm(III) cations with purified Cyanex301 [bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)dithiophosphinic acid, HBTMPDTP denoted as HL], i.e., ML(3) (M = Eu, Am, Cm) as well as the postulated complexes HAmL(4) and HEuL(4)(H(2)O) have been studied by using energy-consistent 4f- and 5f-in-core pseudopotentials for trivalent f elements, combined with density functional theory and second-order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory. Special attention was paid to explaining the high selectivity of Cyanex301 for Am(III)/Cm(III) over Eu(III). It is shown that the neutral complexes ML(3), where L acts as a bidentate ligand and the metal cation is coordinated by six S atoms, are most likely the most stable extraction complexes. The calculated metal-sulfur bond distances for ML(3) do reflect the cation employed; i.e., the larger the cation, the longer the metal-sulfur bond distances. The calculated M-S and M-P bond lengths agree very well with the available experimental data. The obtained changes of the Gibbs free energies in the extraction reactions M(3+) + 3HL → ML(3) + 3H(+) agree with the thermodynamical priority for Am(3+) and Cm(3+). Moreover, the ionic metal-ligand dissociation energies of the extraction complexes ML(3) show that, although EuL(3) is the most stable complex in the gas phase, it is the least stable in aqueous solution.     

Extraction of Am(III) and Eu(III) with dialkyldi (or mono) thiophosphinic (or phosphoric) acids

Extraction of Am(III) and Ln(III) from NaClO₄ medium with di(2-ethylhexyl)dithiophosphoric acid (DEHDTP), di(2-ethylhexyl)monothiophosphoric acid (DEHMTP), di(2-ethylhexyl)monothiophosphinic acid (DEHMTPI), dihexyldithiophosphinic acid (DHXDTPI), diheptyldithiophosphinic acid (DHPDTPI), dioctyldithiophosphinic acids (DODTPI), dinonyldithiophosphinic acid (DNDTPI), di(1-methylheptyl)dithiophosphinic acid (DMHDTPI) and di(2-ethylhexyl)dithiophosphinic acid (DEHDTPI) in xylene has been investigated. The order of the extraction selectivity for Am(III) is DEHDTPI > DEHDTP > DEHMTPI > DEHMTP, DHPDTPI > DODTPI > DHXDTPI > DNDTPI, DMHDTPI > DEHDTPI > DODTPI, for extractants with 2-ethylhexyl alkyl, straight chain alkyl, branch chain alkyl, respectively. Using 0.1 mol/l NaClO₄ solution as aqueous phase, the slope values of the logD-pH and logD-logC curves are not integers, and the slope values for Am(III) are slightly higher than those for Eu(III), for all extractants. The relationship between the slope value and extraction conditions can be described as: logS = alg(C _HA/C _M ^S/4)+b. In the presence of macro Eu(ClO₄)₃, the formula, logSF _Am/Ln = B-2log(C _HL-D _Ln/(D _Ln + 1)C _Eu), can well describe the relationship between separation factor and the extraction condition. A high separation factor (SF _Am/Eu = 2500) is obtained by solvent extraction with 0.5 mol/1 DEHDTPI in toluene from 1 mol/l NaNO₃ solution.     

On-line separation of Pu(III) and Am(III) using extraction and ion chromatography

An on-line method developed for separating plutonium and americium was developed. The method is based on the use of HPLC pump with three analytical chromatographic columns. Plutonium is reduced throughout the procedure to trivalent oxidation state, and is recovered in the various separation steps together with americium. Light lanthanides and trivalent actinides are separated with TEVA resin in thiocyanate/formic acid media. Trivalent plutonium and americium are pre-concentrated in a TCC-II cation-exchange column, after which the separation is performed in CS5A ion chromatography column by using two different eluents. Pu(III) is eluted with a dipicolinic acid eluent, and Am(III) with oxalic acid eluent. Radiochemical and chemical purity of the eluted plutonium and americium fractions were ensured with alpha-spectrometry.     

Interaction of humic and fulvic acids with Eu(III) and Am(III)

The binding constants of Eu(III) and Am(III) with fulvic and humic acids have been measured by a tracer method. The binding constants of these acids exhibited a polyelectrolyte enhancement factor of 10⁴–10⁵ when compared to the analogous monomer ligands. Evidence was found for binding by two types of sites with 1:1 and 1:2 stoichiometry.     

Density functional study on Am(III)/Eu(III) selectivity using crown ether type ligands

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Density functional theory calculations were applied to understand the selectivity between Am3+ and Eu3+ ions with the crown ethers type ligands....     

Syntheses and characterization of Ru(III) with chelating containing ONNO donor quadridentate Schiff bases

Complexes of ruthenium(III) with N,N'-disalicylidene-l,2-phenylenediamine (H2dsp), N,N'-disalicylidene-3,4-diaminotoluene (H2dst), 4-nitro-N,N'-disalicylidene-1,2-phenylenediamine (H2ndsp) and N,N'-disalicylidene ethylenediamine (H2salen) have been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, spectral methods (mid-infrared, 1H NMR and UV-vis spectra) and simultaneous thermal analysis (TG and DTG) techniques. The molar conductance measurements proved that all these complexes are non-electrolytes. The electronic spectra measurements were used to infer the structures. The IR spectra of the ligands and their complexes are used to identify the type of bonding. The kinetic thermodynamic parameters such as: E*, DeltaH*, DeltaS* and DeltaG* are estimated from the DTG curves. The four ligands and their complexes have been studied for their possible biological antifungal activity.     

Extraction and separation of bismuth(III)

Separation of bismuth from beryllium, lead, iron(III), indium, scandium, lanthanum, antimony(III), zirconium, titanium, thorium, vanadium(V), molybdenum(VI), uranium (VI) and chromium(VI) is achieved by selective extraction of bismuth from 0.1M sodium salicylate solution (adjusted to pH 7) into mesityl oxide (MeO). The extracted species is Bi (HOC(6)H(4)COO)(3).3MeO. The results are accurate within +/- 0.5%, with a standard deviation of 0.8%. The separation and determination of bismuth takes only 15 min.     

New Ionic Liquid Based on the CMPO Pattern for the Sequential Extraction of U(VI), Am(III) and Eu(III)

Extraction of U(VI), Eu(III) and Am(III) has been performed from acidic aqueous solutions (HNO₃, HClO₄) into the ionic liquid [C₄mim][Tf₂N] in which a new extracting task-specific ionic liquid, based on the CMPO unit {namely 1-[3-[2-(octylphenylphosphoryl)acetamido]propyl]-3-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide, hereafter noted OctPh-CMPO-IL}, was dissolved at low concentration (0.01 mol·L^?1). EXAFS and UV–Vis spectroscopy measurements were performed to characterize the extracted species. The extraction of U(VI) is more efficient than the extraction of trivalent Am and Eu using this TSIL, for both acids and their concentration range. We obtained evidence that the metal ions are extracted as a solvate (UO₂(OctPh-CMPO-IL)₃) by a cation exchange mechanism. Nitrate or perchlorate ions do not play a direct role in the extraction by being part of the extracted complexes, but the replacement of nitric acid for perchloric acid entails a drop in the selectivity between U and Eu. However, our TSIL allows a sequential separation of U(VI) and Eu/Am(III) using the same HNO₃ concentration and same nature of the organic phase, just by changing the ligand concentration.     

Ionic strength and pH dependence of binding constants of Am(III)- and Eu(III)-humates

Binding constants of Eu(III)- and Am(III)-complexes with soil-derived humic acid were determined by solvent extraction at various pH and ionic strength. Based on the dependence of binding constants on pH and ionic strength, stabilities of the humate complexes in land water and seawater were estimated. Speciation calculation based on the binding constants indicated that Am(III) could combine with humic substances in natural water system.     

Separation of Am(III), Cm(III) and Eu(III) by electro-spun polystyrene-immobilized CyMe4-BTPhen

The synthesis of a novel 5-(4-vinylphenyl)-CyMe₄-BTPhen actinide selective ligand using selenium free synthetic procedures is reported. For the first time, we report the electrospinning of this actinide selective ligand into a polystyrene fiber and investigate its selective removal of Am(III) from Eu(III) and Am(III) from Cm(III). At 4?M HNO₃, the resulting fibrous solid extractant produced separation factors of SF_Am/Eu?≈?57 and a small, but significant separation of SF_Am/Cm?≈?2.9.     

Complexation studies of Cm(III), Am(III), and Eu(III) with linear and cyclic carboxylates and polyaminocarboxylates

Solvent extraction and potentiometric titration methods have been used to measure the stability constants of Cm(III), Am(III), and Eu(III) with both linear and cyclic carboxylates and polyaminocarboxylates in an ionic strength of 0.1?mol?L^?1 (NaClO₄). Luminescence lifetime measurements of Cm(III) and Eu(III) were used to study the change in hydration upon complexation over a range of concentrations and pH values. Aromatic carboxylates, phthalate (1,2 benzene dicarboxylates, PHA), trimesate (1,3,5 benzene tricarboxylates, TSA), pyromellitate (1,2,4,5 tetracarboxylates, PMA), hemimellitate (1,2,3 benzene tricarboxylates, HMA), and trimellitate (1,2,4 benzene tricarboxylates, TMA) form only 1?:?1 complexes, while both 1?:?1 and 1?:?2 complexes were observed with PHA. Their complexation strength follows the order: PHA～TSA>TMA>PMA>HMA. Carboxylate ligands with adjacent carboxylate groups are bidentate and replace two water molecules upon complexation, while TSA displaces 1.5 water molecules of hydration upon complexation. Only 1?:?1 complexes were observed with the macrocyclic dicarboxylates 1,7-diaza-4,10,13-trioxacyclopentadecane-N,N′-diacetate (K21DA) and 1,10-diaza-4,7,13,16-tetraoxacyclooctadecane-N,N′-diacetate (K22DA); both 1?:?1 and 1?:?2 complexes were observed with methyleneiminodiacetate (MIDA), hydroxyethyleneiminodiacetate (HIDA), benzene-1,2-bis oxyacetate (BDODA), and ethylenediaminediacetate (EDDA), while three complexes (1?:?1, 1?:?2, and 1?:?3) were observed with pyridine 2,6 dicarboxylates (DPA) and chelidamate (CA). The complexes of M-MIDA are tridentate, while that of M-HIDA is tetradentate in both 1?:?1 and 1?:?2 complexes. The M-BDODA and M-EDDA complexes are tetradentate in the 1?:?1 and bidentate in the 1?:?2 complexes. The complexes of M-K22DA are octadentate with one water molecule of hydration, while that of K21DA is heptadentate with two water molecules of hydration. Simple polyaminocarboxylate 1,2 diaminopropanetetraacetate (PDTA) and ethylenediamine N,N′-diacetic-N,N′-dipropionate (ENDADP) like ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) form only 1?:?1 complexes and their complexes are hexadentate. Polyaminocarboxylates with additional functional groups in the ligand backbone, e.g., ethylenebis(oxyethylenenitrilo) tetraacetate (EGTA), and 1,6 diaminohexanetetraacetate (HDTA) or with additional number of groups in the carboxylate arms diethylenetriamine pentaacetato-monoamide (DTPA-MA), diethylenetriamine pentaacetato-bis-methoxyethylamide (DTPA-BMEA), and diethylenetriamine pentaacetato-bis glucosaamide (DTPA-BGAM) are octadentate with one water molecule of hydration, except N-methyl MS-325 which is heptadentate with two water molecules of hydration and HDTA which is probably dimeric with three water molecules of hydration. Macrocyclic tetraaminocarboxylate, 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetate (DOTA) forms only 1?:?1 complex which is octadentate with one water molecule of hydration. The functionalization of these carboxylates and polycarboxylates affect the complexation ability toward metal cations. The results, in conjunction with previous results on the Eu(III) complexes, provide insight into the relation between ligand steric requirement and the hydration state of the Cm(III) and Eu(III) complexes in solution. The data are discussed in terms of ionic radii of the metal cations, cavity size, basicity, and ligand steric effects upon complexation.     

Density functional theory insight into Eu(III) and Am(III) complexes with two 2,6-dicarboxypyridine diamide-type ligands

Extraction complexes of Eu(III) and Am(III) with two 2,6-dicarboxypyridine diamide-type ligands L–A and L–B (Fig. 1) are studied by density functional theory (DFT). At both B3LYP/6-31G(d)/RECP and MP2/6-31G(d)/RECP levels of theory, the geometrical optimizations of the structures of the complexes can achieve the same accuracy and obtain the same geometrical configuration. At the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)/RECP level of theory Eu³⁺ and Am³⁺ prefer to form [ML]³⁺ complexes under the solvation conditions, and the Am(III) complexes with L–A are more stable than the corresponding Eu(III) complexes. In the system with the ligand L–B, both [ML]³⁺ and [ML(NO₃)₃] species are very unstable.     

New copper(II), manganese(III), nickel(II) and zinc(II) complexes with a chiral quadridentate Schiff base

A chiral Schiff base ligand (H₂L) was obtained by condensing 2-hydroxynaphthalene-1-carbaldehyde with substituted (1R,2R)-(–)-diaminocyclohexane. Chiral Schiff base complexes [CuL], [NiL], [ZnL] and [MnLOH] have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, _M, i.r., u.v.–vis. and ¹H-n.m.r. and magnetic measurements.