A Fluorous phosphate for the effective extraction of Zr(IV) from HNO solution; Comparison with a conventional organic phosphate

硝酸溶液からのZr(IV)の抽出のためのフルオラスリン酸エステル; 従来の有機リン酸エステルとの比較

上田 祐生   ; Micheau, C.; 徳永 紘平   ; 杉田 剛   ; 阿久津 和宏*; 元川 竜平   

Ueda, Yuki; Micheau, C.; Tokunaga, Kohei; Sugita, Tsuyoshi; Akutsu, Kazuhiro*; Motokawa, Ryuhei

The extraction of Zr(IV) from aqueous HNO solutions have been investigated extensively because the presence of Zr in the tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP)-based PUREX process for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is problematic. We have recently shown that a Zr-loaded organic phase from solvent extraction with TBP shows hierarchical aggregation behaviors of Zr(NO)(TBP) complexes, which self-assemble into primary clusters that coalesce further to form superclusters. This supercluster formation portends the formation of the third phase. Fluorous solvents have excellent chemical properties and immiscibility with both water and organic solutions. Considering these properties, the hierarchical aggregating behaviors of Zr(IV) and the highly hydrophobic fluorous extractant should be different from that of Zr(IV) with TBP. We investigated the extraction performance of a fluoroalkylated phosphate of Zr(IV) from HNO solutions into perfluorohexane and compared them with the TBP in n-hexane.