Sequestering ability of polycarboxylic ligands towards dioxouranium(VI)

In this paper we report a comparison on the sequestering ability of some polycarboxylic ligands towards dioxouranium(VI) (UO(2)(2+), uranyl). Ligands taken into account are mono- (acetate), di- (oxalate, malonate, succinate and azelate), tri- (1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate) and hexa-carboxylate (1,2,3,4,5,6-benzenehexacarboxylate). The sequestering ability of polycarboxylic ligands towards UO(2)(2+) was quantified by a new approach expressed by means of a sigmoid Boltzman type equation and of a empirical parameters (pL(50)) which defines the amount of ligand necessary to sequester 50% of the total UO(2)(2+) concentration. A fairly linear correlation was obtained between pL(50) or log K(110) (log K(110) refers to the equilibrium: UO(2)(2+)+L(z-)=UO(2)L((2-z)); L=generic ligand) and the polyanion charges. In order to complete the picture, a tetra-carboxylate ligand (1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylate) was studied in NaCl aqueous solutions at 0