Over the last thirty years, numerous groups worldwide have been engaged in expansive ligand design activities stimulated by a very diverse range of fundamental and applied science objectives. In particular, several groups have sought to discover new ligand constructs that reveal unique features in the coordination chemistry of f-element cations and subsequently provide for improved separations and/or detection methods for these technically important elements. Contributing to these efforts, we have used a combination of computational molecular modeling, organic ligand syntheses, f-element coordination chemistry, spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography and solvent extraction analyses to support development of new f-element selective multidonor-site ligands and to identify electronic and architectural features that impact ligand/f-element ion chelation events operating in solvent extraction processes. In this presentation, the evolution of a new family of ligands based upon pyridine and pyridine N-oxide platforms decorated with phosphine oxide and amide groups will be described, and the coordination chemistry and extraction performance of selected ligands will be discussed and compared against other well studied extractants.

Something old and something new: Evolving ligand constructs for f-element ion recognition

247th National Meeting (2014)

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