Evaluation of Gibbs free energy for the transfer of a highly hydrophilic ion from an acidic aqueous solution to an organic solution based on ion pair extraction

A method to determine the standard Gibbs free energy for the transfer, ΔG°_tr, of a highly hydrophilic metal ion from an aqueous solution, W, in the presence of high concentration of H⁺ to an organic solution, O, was proposed based on the theoretical consideration of the distribution process of ions between W and O. The usefulness of the proposed method was verified experimentally by comparing ΔG°_tr of Mg²⁺ determined by the method with that obtained by voltammetry for the ion transfer at the W|O interface. The O examined were nitrobenzene (NB) and 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE). By applying the proposed method, ΔG°_tr of NpO₂⁺, UO₂²⁺, NpO₂²⁺ and PuO₂²⁺ from an acidic W to NB were determined.