Lanthanides are a group of metals, found in ores exclusively as mixtures of elements, which have a variety of nuclear, catalytic, and technological applications. Previous methods utilized to separate lanthanides are inefficient due to excess solvent use and lack of selectivity.  A ligand can be employed to separate these mixtures because of Lewis-acidity differences across the lanthanide series.  The 2,2-LI-bisHOPO ligand was selected as the ligand of interest because of its predicted high selectivity for lanthanides with smaller ionic radii and ability to easily be covalently immobilized on a solid support.  This ligand was synthesized using a five-step method employing the commercially available 6-hydroxypicolinic acid.  Moreover, lanthanide-ligand complexes have an affinity for phosphate, making the 2,2-LI-bisHOPO ligand a means of phosphate removal in biological and aquatic systems.

Synthesis of 2,2-LI-HOPO for Lanthanide Separation

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