Complexation of neptunium(V) by salicylate,phthalate and citrate ligands in a pH 7.5 phosphate buffered system

Conditional stability constants, enthalpies and entropies of complexation at pH 7.5 and ionic strength 0.1 have been determined for neptunium(V) complexes of phosphate, salicylate, phthalate and citrate. Phosphate forms a complex with log β = 2.36 ± 0.42 at 25°C, ΔH°_c = ? 69.9 kJ/mole and ΔS°_c = ? 188 J/mole-K. At pH 7.5 salicylate does not form a complex with neptunium(V) due to the low charge density of the NpO₂⁺ ion and incomplete ionization of the salicylate ion. Phthalate forms a complex with log β = 3.43 ± 0.33 at 25°C, ΔH°_c = 33.5 kJ/mole and ΔS°_c = 182 J/mole-K. Citrate forms a complex with log β = 4.84 ± 0.72 at 25°C, ΔH°_c = 14.0 kJ/mole and ΔS°_c = 140 J/mole-K. In all cases, only 1:1 complexes were identified.