Separation of trivalent actinide ions from chemically similar lanthanides is a crucial step in the processing of spent nuclear fuel, allowing for minimization of the volume of nuclear waste and the recovery and reuse of uranium and plutonium. Nitrogen donor ligands have been shown to exhibit selectivity for actinide ions and continue to be a fruitful area of design research. In this study, density function theory calculations were used to develop an explanation for the success of certain azine compositions over others. Fundamental properties (including intrinsic binding affinity, basicity, and hardness) for prototype azine donors were investigated and conformational analyses of bisazine chelates formed from the linkage of two donors were performed. The results both rationalize the behavior of known extractants as well as predict a new class of pyridazine ligands for use in actinide/lanthanide partitioning. A snapshot of teaching and research at a primarily undergraduate institution will also be provided.

Separation of trivalent lanthanide and actinide ions using polyazine extractants

247th National Meeting (2014)

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