Challenging conventional f-element separation chemistry--reversing uranyl(VI)/lanthanide(III) solvent extraction selectivity

C A Hawkins; C G Bustillos; R Copping; B L Scott; I May; M Nilsson

doi:10.1039/c4cc03031a

Challenging conventional f-element separation chemistry--reversing uranyl(VI)/lanthanide(III) solvent extraction selectivity

Chem Commun (Camb). 2014 Aug 14;50(63):8670-3. doi: 10.1039/c4cc03031a. Epub 2014 Jun 24.

Authors

C A Hawkins¹, C G Bustillos, R Copping, B L Scott, I May, M Nilsson

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, 916 Engineering Tower, Irvine, CA 92617, USA. nilssonm@uci.edu.

PMID: 24958394
DOI: 10.1039/c4cc03031a

Abstract

The water soluble tetradentate Schiff base, N,N'-bis(5-sulfonatosalicylidene)-diaminoethane (H2salen-SO3), will readily coordinate to the uranyl(VI) cation, but not to the same extent to trivalent lanthanide cations. This allows for the reversal of conventional solvent extraction properties and opens the possibility for novel separation processes.