Prediction of pKa Using DFT: the Nicotianamine Polyacid Example

Ultra-high mechanical property and multi-layer porous structure of amidoximation ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer balls for efficient and selective uranium adsorption from radioactive wastewater

Adsorption uranium [U(VI)] from U-containing radioactive wastewater (URW) is a critical strategy for solving the resource shortage and environmental pollution in pace with the sustainable development of nuclear energy. However, the URW universally exhibits acidity and contains co-existing metal ions with high concentration. Herein, the amidoximation ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer balls (EAA-AO) with aciduric and super-high mechanical property were successfully synthesized through grafting diaminomaleonitrile and further treatment of amidoximation. Significantly, the mechanical properties of EAA-AO were not affected by the grafting process and maintained super-high mechanical properties. Furthermore, the -NH₂ and unreacted -CN groups in diaminomaleonitrile adjusted the pK_a to make the optimal pH be 4. In addition, the microstructure of EAA-AO was transformed from the original dense to multi-layer porous structure, which promoted the mass transfer process and the contact between uranyl ions (UO₂²⁺) and internal adsorption active sites. The adsorption capacity of EAA-AO was about 1.78 times that of EAA at pH = 4, and the adsorption capacity for U(VI) was about 8.17 times that of Ba²⁺ with the second highest adsorption capacity. Therefore, the EAA-AO exhibited ultra-high adsorption performance (q_e = 3.196 mg g^-1) in the artificial radioactive wastewater, laying a good foundation for subsequent large-scale industrial adsorption of U(VI) in nuclear industrial wastewater.

Computational Prediction of All Lanthanide Aqua Ion Acidity Constants

The protonation state of lanthanide-ligand complexes, or lanthanide-containing porous materials, with many Brønsted acid sites can change due to proton loss/gain reactions with water or other heteroatom-containing compounds. Consequently, variations in the protonation state of lanthanide-containing species affect their molecular structure and desired properties. Lanthanide(III) aqua ions undergo hydrolysis and form hydroxides; they are the best characterized lanthanide-containing species with multiple Brønsted acid sites. We employed constrained ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and electronic structure calculations to determine all acidity constants of the lanthanide(III) aqua ions solely from computation. The first, second, and third acidity constants of lanthanide(III) aqua ions were predicted, on average, within 1.2, 2.5, and 4.7 absolute pK_a units from experiment, respectively. A table includes our predicted pK_a values alongside most experimentally measured pK_a values known to date. The approach presented is particularly suitable to determine the Brønsted acidity of lanthanide-containing systems with multiple acidic sites, including those whose measured acidity constants cannot be linked to specific acid sites.

Predicting lanthanide coordination structures in solution with molecular simulation

The chemical and physical properties of lanthanide coordination complexes can significantly change with small variations in their molecular structure. Further, in solution, coordination structures (e.g., lanthanide-ligand complexes) are dynamic. Resolving solution structures, computationally or experimentally, is challenging because structures in solution have limited spatial restrictions and are responsive to chemical or physical changes in their surroundings. To determine structures of lanthanide-ligand complexes in solution, a molecular simulation approach is presented in this chapter, which concurrently considers chemical reactions and molecular dynamics. Lanthanide ion, ligand, solvent, and anion molecules are explicitly included to identify, in atomic resolution, lanthanide coordination structures in solution. The computational protocol described is applicable to determining the molecular structure of lanthanide-ligand complexes, particularly with ligands known to bind lanthanides but whose structures have not been resolved, as well as with ligands not previously known to bind lanthanide ions. The approach in this chapter is also relevant to elucidating lanthanide coordination in more intricate structures, such as in the active site of enzymes.

Solution structure of a europium–nicotianamine complex supports that phytosiderophores bind lanthanides

The structures of europium–EDTA (known lanthanide chelator) and europium–nicotianamine (biochemical precursor of phytosiderophores) complexes are resolved, in solution, with ab initio molecular dynamics as well as excitation and emission spectroscopy.