A desire for more sustainable nuclear fuel cycles has generated intense interest in transuranic/lanthanide separations for spent fuel reprocessing. After plutonium is removed using a PUREX-type process, the raffinate contains americium, curium, lanthanides, and other fission products. Americium is the main actinide contributor to residual heat and activity of long-term radioactive waste, and its removal would lead to more compact geologic repositories with shorter necessary lifespans. Considerable research has been dedicated to tridentate 2,6-bis(triazine)-pyridine (BTP) and tetradentate 6,6’-bis(triazine)-bipyridine (BTBP) N-donor ligands as the basis of Am(III)/Ln(III) solvent extraction selectivity. Modular synthetic chemistry is being developed to synthesize new ligands based on these scaffolds, as part of an effort to adjust the structural and electronic properties toward Am/Eu selectivity. A recent paper reported Am/Eu separation factors as high as 200 in distributions between nitric acid and a solvent of 3,3′-dimethoxy-phenyl-bis-1,2,4-triazinyl-2,6-pyridine (MOB-BTP) in FS-13. Our current work includes investigation of the metal ion complexation chemistry of MOB-BTP and newly synthesized ligands using spectrophotometric methods.<br/>

Spectroscopic studies of novel N-donor ligand metal ion complexation

2019 Spring National Meeting

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