Investigation of the molecular structure of HONTA in the n-dodecane media by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculation

Miyazaki, Yasunori  ; Toigawa, Tomohiro   ; Gejo, Tatsuo*; Kumaki, Fumitoshi*; Adachi, Junichi*; Nagasaka, Masanari*

The separation technology of minor actinide (MA: Am, Cm) in spent fuel reprocessing has been developed to reduce the volume of radioactive waste and radiotoxicity. The solvent extraction method using N,N,N',N',N'',N''-hexaoctylnitrilotriacetamide (HONTA) is one of the promising extractants for selective extraction of MA from the reprocessing liquid waste. The non-bonded interactions such as solvation, protonation and coordination in the n-dodecane media need to be understood for a suitable MA flowsheet; otherwise, the third phase formation is induced by aggregation with H2O and HNO3. Here, the first investigation of HONTA by transmission mode soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy is presented.