Separation of Am(III) by nitrogen-donor ligand

Watanabe, Masayuki   ; Ishimori, Kenichiro ; Wada, Atsushi*; Kataoka, Yumiko*; Murata, Masaki*; Shinoda, Satoshi*; Nishihara, Hiroshi*; Tsukube, Hiroshi*; Kimura, Takaumi 

Soft-donor extractants containing sulfur- or nitrogen-donor are applicable to the separation of trivalent actinides (An(III)) from lanthanides (Ln(III)) by solvent extraction method. We designed two ligand systems which are expected to efficiently separate An(III) from Ln(III). The one is "Oligo-pyridine" ligand containing multiple pyridine moieties. The other is "Chirality-controlled" ligand containing chiral centers in the ligand. We synthesized more than thirty ligands and found out the ability on the separation of An(III) from Ln(III). In this presentation, we will discuss about the comprehensive results on the separation ability of An(III) from Ln(III) by means of "Oligo-pyridine" and "Chirality-controlled" ligands, and the extraction equilibrium of An(III) with selected tripodal ligands in detail.