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Pu N, Archer E, He X, Chen J, Rao L, Shafer JC, Yang P, Xu C. Tuning Selectivity to f-Elements through Bonding and Solvation Effects of a Sulfur Donor Ligand. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:6845-6853. [PMID: 38568878 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c00297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)dithiophosphinic acid, commonly referred to as HBTMPDTP or Cyanex301, is a sulfur-donating ligand that shows considerable promise in the challenging task of separating trivalent actinides (An3+) from lanthanides (Ln3+). Although its effectiveness has been established, the specific molecular details about the preference of HBTMPDTP for americium over europium have remained a mystery, puzzling researchers for over two decades. This study presents a comprehensive, dual-driven separation mechanism for this complex system combining experimental and theoretical approaches. A critical finding is the increased covalency in An-S bonds compared to Ln-S bonds, which plays a significant role in HBTMPDTP's intrinsic selectivity for An3+ over Ln3+. This leads to the formation of distinct An3+ and Ln3+ species, enhancing the ligand's actinide selectivity. Additionally, it provides crucial insights into the coordination chemistry of f-elements with sulfur-donating ligands, thereby deepening our understanding of this intricate field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Pu
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Emma Archer
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Xihong He
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Linfeng Rao
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Jenifer C Shafer
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Ping Yang
- Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
| | - Chao Xu
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Pu N, Xu C, Chen J. Probing Substituent Effect on Nickel-Sulfur Bond Covalency in Ni(II)-Dithiophosphinate Complexes by Sulfur K-Edge XAS and DFT Calculations. Inorg Chem 2023; 62:15565-15574. [PMID: 37700628 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c02062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
Complexes of Ni(II) with a series of aryl or alkyl substituent dithiophosphinic acids were characterized by crystallographic structure, sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and density functional theory (DFT). In these complexes, Ni(II) coordinates with four sulfur atoms from two dithiophosphinate anions form a well-defined square-planar structure. Despite the minor differences in the geometry parameters among the complexes, the electronic structure is affected significantly by the substituent group attached to dithiophosphinic acid. In particular, the addition of ortho-CF3 group to the aryl ring constrains the orientation of the aryl ring and enhances the conjugation between the aryl ring and the coordinating core. Sulfur K-edge XAS spectra help further reveal the electronic structure of the complexes. Both the pre-edge feature and rising-edge feature provide abundant information on the molecular orbitals and show a distinctive effect of the substituent groups on the electronic structure of the complexes, which is supposedly relevant to the ligand's performance in Ln(III)/An(III) separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Pu
- Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing Co. Ltd., Beijing 100083, China
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chao Xu
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Wang Q, Liu Z, Song YF, Wang D. Recent Advances in the Study of Trivalent Lanthanides and Actinides by Phosphinic and Thiophosphinic Ligands in Condensed Phases. Molecules 2023; 28:6425. [PMID: 37687254 PMCID: PMC10489984 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28176425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The separation of trivalent actinides and lanthanides is a key step in the sustainable development of nuclear energy, and it is currently mainly realized via liquid-liquid extraction techniques. The underlying mechanism is complicated and remains ambiguous, which hinders the further development of extraction. Herein, to better understand the mechanism of the extraction, the contributing factors for the extraction are discussed (specifically, the sulfur-donating ligand, Cyanex301) by combing molecular dynamics simulations and experiments. This work is expected to contribute to improve our systematic understanding on a molecular scale of the extraction of lanthanides and actinides, and to assist in the extensive studies on the design and optimization of novel ligands with improved performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China;
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Liaoning Key Laboratory for Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Resources, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China;
| | - Ziyi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Liaoning Key Laboratory for Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Resources, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China;
| | - Yu-Fei Song
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China;
| | - Dongqi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Liaoning Key Laboratory for Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Resources, School of Chemical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China;
- CAS-HKU Joint Laboratory of Metallomics on Health and Environment, Multidisciplinary Initiative Center, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Driscoll DM, Liu H, Reinhart B, Popovs I, Bocharova V, Jansone-Popova S, Jiang DE, Ivanov AS. Noncoordinating Secondary Sphere Ion Modulates Supramolecular Clustering of Lanthanides. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:12076-12081. [PMID: 36546660 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The role of counterions in molecular recognition of lanthanides is underexplored, especially when they exhibit weak interactions with the metal cations. Here, we report a complementary and comprehensive investigation integrating theoretical calculations with X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and small-angle X-ray scattering to reveal atomic-scale structural features beyond the immediate coordination sphere of a system used for rare-earth element separations. Our results indicate the formation of an unusual T-shaped outer-sphere lanthanide complex, containing two ligands and two nitrate ions in the first coordination sphere, whereas the third nitrate is weakly coordinated and resides in the second shell. This unique structural arrangement causes inhomogeneous charge distribution, leading to self-assembly of the complexes into larger nanoclusters through sterically directed electrostatic interactions in the nonpolar medium. Our findings point to the importance of "noncoordinating" anions in defining the degree of supramolecular aggregation and ion cluster assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren M Driscoll
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Hongjun Liu
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Benjamin Reinhart
- Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Ilja Popovs
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Vera Bocharova
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Santa Jansone-Popova
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - De-En Jiang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Alexander S Ivanov
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
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Fetrow TV, Zgrabik J, Bhowmick R, Eckstrom FD, Crull G, Vlaisavljevich B, Daly SR. Quantifying the Influence of Covalent Metal-Ligand Bonding on Differing Reactivity of Trivalent Uranium and Lanthanide Complexes. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022; 61:e202211145. [PMID: 36097137 PMCID: PMC9828012 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202211145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Qualitative differences in the reactivity of trivalent lanthanide and actinide complexes have long been attributed to differences in covalent metal-ligand bonding, but there are few examples where thermodynamic aspects of this relationship have been quantified, especially with U3+ and in the absence of competing variables. Here we report a series of dimeric phosphinodiboranate complexes with trivalent f-metals that show how shorter-than-expected U-B distances indicative of increased covalency give rise to measurable differences in solution deoligomerization reactivity when compared to isostructural complexes with similarly sized lanthanides. These results, which are in excellent agreement with supporting DFT and QTAIM calculations, afford rare experimental evidence concerning the measured effect of variations in metal-ligand covalency on the reactivity of trivalent uranium and lanthanide complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor V. Fetrow
- Department of ChemistryThe University of IowaE331 Chemistry BuildingIowa CityIA 52242USA
| | - Joshua Zgrabik
- Department of ChemistryThe University of IowaE331 Chemistry BuildingIowa CityIA 52242USA
| | - Rina Bhowmick
- Department of ChemistryThe University of South Dakota414 East Clark StreetVermillionSouth Dakota57069USA
| | - Francesca D. Eckstrom
- Department of ChemistryThe University of IowaE331 Chemistry BuildingIowa CityIA 52242USA
| | - George Crull
- Department of ChemistryThe University of IowaE331 Chemistry BuildingIowa CityIA 52242USA
| | - Bess Vlaisavljevich
- Department of ChemistryThe University of South Dakota414 East Clark StreetVermillionSouth Dakota57069USA
| | - Scott R. Daly
- Department of ChemistryThe University of IowaE331 Chemistry BuildingIowa CityIA 52242USA
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Zhang Y, Duan W, Wang Q, Zheng L, Wang J, Chen J, Sun T. Covalency between the uranyl ion and dithiophosphinate by sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory. JOURNAL OF SYNCHROTRON RADIATION 2022; 29:11-20. [PMID: 34985418 PMCID: PMC8733989 DOI: 10.1107/s160057752101198x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The dithiophosphinic acids (HS2PR2) have been used for the selective separation of trivalent actinides (AnIII) from lanthanides (LnIII) over the past decades. The substituents on the dithiophosphinic acids dramatically impact the separation performance, but the mechanism is still open for debate. In this work, two dithiophosphinic acids with significantly different AnIII/LnIII separation performance, i.e. diphenyl dithiophosphinic acid (HS2PPh2) and bis(ortho-trifluoromethylphenyl) dithiophosphinic acid [HS2P(o-CF3C6H4)2], are employed to understand the substituent effect on the bonding covalency between the S2PR2- anions (R = Ph and o-CF3C6H4) and the uranyl ion by sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in combination with density functional theory calculations. The two UO2(S2PR2)(EtOH) complexes display similar XAS spectra, in which the first pre-edge feature with an intensity of 0.16 is entirely attributed to the transitions from S 1s orbitals to the unoccupied molecular orbitals due to the mixing between U 5f and S 3p orbitals. The Mulliken population analysis indicates that the amount of \% S 3p character in these orbitals is essentially identical for the UO2(S2PPh2)2(EtOH) and UO2[S2P(o-CF3C6H4)2]2(EtOH) complexes, which is lower than that in the U 6d-based orbitals. The essentially identical covalency in U-S bonds for the two UO2(S2PR2)2(EtOH) complexes are contradictory to the significantly different AnIII/LnIII separation performance of the two dithiophosphinic acids, thus the covalency seems to be unable to account for substituent effects in the AnIII/LnIII separation by the dithiophosphinic acids. The results in this work provide valuable insight into the understanding of the mechanism in the AnIII/LnIII separation by the dithiophosphinic acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusheng Zhang
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Wuhua Duan
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Zheng
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianchen Wang
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Taoxiang Sun
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
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Špadina M, Dufrêche JF, Pellet-Rostaing S, Marčelja S, Zemb T. Molecular Forces in Liquid-Liquid Extraction. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:10637-10656. [PMID: 34251218 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The phase transfer of ions is driven by gradients of chemical potentials rather than concentrations alone (i.e., by both the molecular forces and entropy). Extraction is a combination of high-energy interactions that correspond to short-range forces in the first solvation shell such as ion pairing or complexation forces, with supramolecular and nanoscale organization. While the latter are similar to the long-range solvent-averaged interactions in the colloidal world, in solvent extraction they are associated with lower characteristic lengths of the nanometric domain. Modeling of such complex systems is especially complicated because the two domains are coupled, whereas the resulting free energy of extraction is around kBT to guarantee the reversibility of the practical process. Nevertheless, quantification is possible by considering a partitioning of space among the polar cores, interfacial film, and solvent. The resulting free energy of transfer can be rationalized by utilizing a combination of terms which represent strong complexation energies, counterbalanced by various entropic effects and the confinement of polar solutes in nanodomains dispersed in the diluent, together with interfacial extractant terms. We describe here this ienaics approach in the context of solvent extraction systems; it can also be applied to further complex ionic systems, such as membranes and biological interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Špadina
- Group for Computational Life Sciences, Rud̵er Bošković Institute, Division of Physical Chemistry, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | | | | | - Stjepan Marčelja
- Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Thomas Zemb
- ICSM, CEA, CNRS, ENSCM, Université Montpellier, Marcoule, France
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Bessen NP, Popov IA, Heathman CR, Grimes TS, Zalupski PR, Moreau LM, Smith KF, Booth CH, Abergel RJ, Batista ER, Yang P, Shafer JC. Complexation of Lanthanides and Heavy Actinides with Aqueous Sulfur-Donating Ligands. Inorg Chem 2021; 60:6125-6134. [PMID: 33866779 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c00257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The separation of trivalent lanthanides and actinides is challenging because of their similar sizes and charge densities. S-donating extractants have shown significant selectivity for trivalent actinides over lanthanides, with single-stage americium/lanthanide separation efficiencies for some thiol-based extractants reported at >99.999%. While such separations could transform the nuclear waste management landscape, these systems are often limited by the hydrolytic and radiolytic stability of the extractant. Progress away from thiol-based systems is limited by the poorly understood and complex interactions of these extractants in organic phases, where molecular aggregation and micelle formation obfuscates assessment of the metal-extractant coordination environment. Because S-donating thioethers are generally more resistant to hydrolysis and oxidation and the aqueous phase coordination chemistry is anticipated to lack complications brought on by micelle formation, we have considered three thioethers, 2,2'-thiodiacetic acid (TDA), (2R,5S)-tetrahydrothiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid, and 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid (TPA), as possible trivalent actinide selective reagents. Formation constants, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and computational studies were completed for thioether complexes with a variety of trivalent lanthanides and actinides including Nd, Eu, Tb, Am, Cm, Bk, and Cf. TPA was found to have moderately higher selectivity for the actinides because of its ability to bind actinides in a different manner than lanthanides, but the utility of TPA is limited by poor water solubility and high rigidity. While significant competition with water for the metal center limits the efficacy of aqueous-based thioethers for separations, the characterization of these solution-phase, S-containing lanthanide and actinide complexes is the most comprehensively available in the literature to date. This is due to the breadth of lanthanides and actinides considered as well as the techniques deployed and serves as a platform for the further development of S-containing reagents for actinide separations. Additionally, this paper reports on the first bond lengths for Cf and Bk with a neutral S donor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan P Bessen
- Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Ivan A Popov
- Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
| | - Colt R Heathman
- Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402, United States
| | - Travis S Grimes
- Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402, United States
| | - Peter R Zalupski
- Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402, United States
| | - Liane M Moreau
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Kurt F Smith
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Corwin H Booth
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Rebecca J Abergel
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Enrique R Batista
- Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
| | - Ping Yang
- Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
| | - Jenifer C Shafer
- Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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