Lanthanide purification is difficult because of their chemical similarity � i.e. most exist only in the +3 oxidation state. However, lanthanides differ in ionic radius. Thus our approach to the problem of lanthanide purification is to develop a size-selective ligand which will be capable of purifying lanthanide ions by a �catch and release� mechanism. We report here a tris-salicylamide ligand formed by reaction of tris[2-(methylamino)ethyl]amine with acetylsalicyloyl chloride followed by hydrolysis. The ligand has been characterized by 1H NMR and IR spectroscopies and by mass spectrometry. Exposure of this ligand in methanol to mixtures of lanthanide salts in the presence of mild base results in selective precipitation of later lanthanides as confirmed by XRF spectroscopy.

Synthesis, characterization, and selectivity of a tris-salicylamide ligand capable of distinguishing lanthanide ions

247th National Meeting (2014)

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