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DOE OSTI2026

CMPO-Functionalized Silica Sorbents for pH-Tunable Separation and Enrichment of Rare-Earth Elements from Environmental Matrices

Rare-earth elements (REEs) are crucial in many applications, yet mutual separation is challenging due to their similar chemical behavior. Octylphenyl- N,N-diisobutyl carbamoyl methyl phosphine oxide (CMPO) is an organophosphorus ligand originally developed for extracting actinides and lanthanides from spent nuclear fuel. Here, we report a pH-tunable CMPOfunctionalized silica sorbent for selective REE separation from complex aqueous matrices. A CMPO-associated silica gel sorbent was synthesized and characterized by Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) surface area, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to confirm the surface functionalization and binding behavior. Sorbent performance was evaluated by using a synthetic 46- element solution and a real phosphate rock fertilizer leachate. Notably, REEs were successfully eluted with ultrapure water, demonstrating reversible desorption controlled by pH adjustment. Packed-bed column studies increased the REE mass fraction from 3.6% to 64% (20-fold enrichment), with up to 30-fold enrichment of neodymium. The adsorption process follows the Langmuir isotherm behavior and follows pseudo-second-order kinetics. The uptake capacity of 1 μmol of REEs per 4.2 μmol of CMPO supports the formation of a predominantly 4:1 ligand:rare earth element(III) pseudocomplex. These results demonstrate CMPO-functionalized silica as a selective, water-elutable, and low-chemical-input platform for sustainable REE recovery from environmental and industrial sources.

chelating ligands↗

DOE OSTI2016

Engineered Recognition of Tetravalent Zirconium and Thorium by Chelator–Protein Systems: Toward Flexible Radiotherapy and Imaging Platforms

Targeted α therapy holds tremendous potential as a cancer treatment: it offers the possibility of delivering a highly cytotoxic dose to targeted cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The metallic α-generating radioisotopes 225 Ac and 227 Th are promising radionuclides for therapeutic use, provided adequate chelation and targeting. In this work, we demonstrate a new chelating platform composed of a multidentate high-affinity oxygen-donating ligand 3,4,3-LI(CAM) bound to the mammalian protein siderocalin. Respective stability constants log β 110 = 29.65 ± 0.65, 57.26 ± 0.20, and 47.71 ± 0.08, determined for the Eu III (a lanthanide surrogate for Ac III ), Zr IV , and Th IV complexes of 3,4,3-LI(CAM) through spectrophotometric titrations, reveal this ligand to be one of the most powerful chelators for both trivalent and tetravalent metal ions at physiological pH. The resulting metal-ligand complexes are also recognized with extremely high affinity by the siderophore-binding protein siderocalin, with dissociation constants below 40 nM and tight electrostatic interactions, as evidenced by X-ray structures of the protein:ligand:metal adducts with Zr IV and Th IV . Finally, differences in biodistribution profiles between free and siderocalin-bound 238 Pu IV -3,4,3-LI(CAM) complexes confirm in vivo stability of the protein construct. The siderocalin:3,4,3-LI(CAM) assembly can therefore serve as a "lock" to consolidate binding to the therapeutic 225 Ac and 227 Th isotopes or to the positron emission tomography emitter 89 Zr, independent of metal valence state.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2022

Pyridinium Salts of Dehydrated Lanthanide Polychlorides

The reaction of lanthanide (Ln) chloride hydrates ([Ln(H 2 O) n (Cl) 3 ]) with pyridine (py) yielded a set of dehydrated pyridinium (py-H) Ln-polychloride salts. These species were crystallographically characterized as [[py-H-py][py-H] 2 [LnCl 6 ]] (Ln-6; Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd) or [[py-H] 2 [LnCl 5 (py)]] ((Ln-5; Ln = Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu). The Ln-6 metal centers adopt an octahedral (OC-6) geometry, binding six Cl ligands. The -3 charge is off-set by two py-H moieties and a di-pyridinium (py-H-py) ion. For the Ln-5 species, an OC-6 anion is formed by the Ln cation binding a single py and five Cl ligands. The remaining -2 charge is offset by two py-H + cations that H-bond to the anion. Significant H-bonding occurs between the various cation/anion moieties inducing the molecular stability. The change in structure from the Ln-6 to Ln-5 is believed to be due to the Ln-contraction producing a smaller unit cell, which prevents formation of the py-H-py + cation, leading to the loss of the H-bonding-induced stability. Based on this, it was determined that the Ln-5 structures only exist when the lattice energy is small. While dehydrated polychloride salts can be produced by simply mixing in pyridine, the final structures adopted result from a delicate balance of cation size, Coulombic charge, and stabilizing H-bonding.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Low-Energy Electron Elastic Total Cross Sections for Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Hf Atoms

The robust Regge-pole methodology wherein is fully embedded the essential electron-electron correlation effects and the vital core polarization interaction has been used to explore negative ion formation in the large lanthanide Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Hf atoms through the electron elastic total cross sections (TCSs) calculations. These TCSs are characterized generally by dramatically sharp resonances manifesting ground, metastable, and excited negative ion formation during the collisions, Ramsauer-Townsend minima, and shape resonances. The novelty and generality of the Regge-pole approach is in the extraction of the negative ion binding energies (BEs) of complex heavy systems from the calculated electron TCSs. The extracted anionic BEs from the ground state TCSs for Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Hf atoms are 3.51 eV, 3.53 eV, 3.36 eV, 3.49 eV, 4.09 eV and 1.68 eV, respectively. The TCSs are presented and the extracted from the ground; metastable and excited anionic states BEs are compared with the available measured and/or calculated electron affinities. We conclude with a remark on the existing inconsistencies in the meaning of the electron affinity among the various measurements and/or calculations in the investigated atoms and make a recommendation to resolve the ambiguity.

Felfli, Zineb↗

DOE OSTI2024

Prediction of stability constants of metal–ligand complexes by machine learning for the design of ligands with optimal metal ion selectivity

The new LOGKPREDICT program integrates HostDesigner molecular design software with the machine learning (ML) program Chemprop. By supplying HostDesigner with predicted log K values, LOGKPREDICT enhances the computer-aided molecular design process by ranking ligands directly by metal–ligand binding strength. Harnessing reliable experimental data from a historic National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) database and data from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), we train message passing neural net algorithms. The multi-metal NIST-based ML model has a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.629 ± 0.044 (R 2 of 0.960 ± 0.006), while two versions of lanthanide-only IUPAC-based ML models have, respectively, RMSE of 0.764 ± 0.073 (R 2 of 0.976 ± 0.005) and 0.757 ± 0.071 (R 2 of 0.959 ± 0.007). For relative log K predictions on an out-of-sample set of six ligands, demonstrating metal ion selectivity, the RMSE value reaches a commendably low 0.25. Here we showcase the use of LOGKPREDICT in identifying ligands with high selectivity for lanthanides in aqueous solutions, a finding supported by recent experimental evidence. We also predict new ligands yet to be verified experimentally. Therefore, our ML models implemented through LOGKPREDICT and interfaced with the ligand design software HostDesigner pave the way for designing new ligands with predetermined selectivity for competing metal ions in an aqueous solution.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Molecular Dynamics and Free Energy Calculations of Dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 Diastereoisomers with Sm 2+ , Eu 2+ , Dy 2+ , Yb 2+ , Cf 2+ , and Three Halide Salts in Tetrahydrofuran and Acetonitrile Using the AMOEBA Force Field

With the continual development of lanthanides (Ln) in current technological devices, an efficient separation process is needed that can recover greater amounts of these rare elements. Dicyclohexano-18-crown-6(DCH18C6) is a crown ether that may be a promising candidate for Ln separation, but additional research is required. As such, molecular dynamics(MD) simulations have been performed on four divalent lanthanide halide salts(Sm 2+ , Eu 2+ , Dy 2+ , and Yb 2+ ) and one divalent actinide halide salt (Cf 2+ ) bound to three diastereoisomers of DCH18C6. Dy 2+ , Yb 2+ , Cf 2+ , DCH18C6, and tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent were parameterized for the AMOEBA polarizable force field for the first time, whereas existing parameters for Sm 2+ and Eu 2+ were utilized from our previous efforts. A coordination number (CN) of six for Ln 2+ /An 2+ –O solvated in THF indicated that the cations interacted almost entirely with the oxygens of the polyether ring. A CN of one for Ln 2+ /An 2+ -N solvated in acetonitrile for systems containing iodide suggested that theN atom of acetonitrile was competitive with I – for cation interactions. Fluctuation between five and six CNs for Dy 2+ and Yb 2+ suggested that although the cations remained in the polyether ring, the size of the ring may not be an ideal fit as these cations possess comparatively smaller ionic radii. Gibbs binding free energies of Sm 2+ in all DCH18C6 diastereoisomers solvated in THF were calculated. The binding free energy of the cis-syn-cis diastereoisomer was the most favorable, followed by cis-anti-cis, and then trans-anti-trans. Lastly, two major types of conformation were observed for each diastereoisomer that were related to the electrostatic interactions and charge density of the cations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2021

Multidimensional genome-wide screening in yeast provides mechanistic insights into europium toxicity

Abstract Europium is a lanthanide metal that is highly valued in optoelectronics. Even though europium is used in many commercial products, its toxicological profile has only been partially characterized, with most studies focusing on identifying lethal doses in different systems or bioaccumulation in vivo. This paper describes a genome-wide toxicogenomic study of europium in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which shares many biological functions with humans. By using a multidimensional approach and functional and network analyses, we have identified a group of genes and proteins associated with the yeast responses to ameliorate metal toxicity, which include metal discharge paths through vesicle-mediated transport, paths to regulate biologically relevant cations, and processes to reduce metal-induced stress. Furthermore, the analyses indicated that europium promotes yeast toxicity by disrupting the function of chaperones and cochaperones, which have metal-binding sites. Several of the genes and proteins highlighted in our study have human orthologues, suggesting they may participate in europium-induced toxicity in humans. By identifying the endogenous targets of europium as well as the already existing paths that can decrease its toxicity, we can determine specific genes and proteins that may help to develop future therapeutic strategies.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

A new generation of effective core potentials: Selected lanthanides and heavy elements

Here, we construct correlation-consistent effective core potentials (ccECPs) for a selected set of heavy atoms and ƒ-elements that are of significant current interest in materials and chemical applications, including Y, Zr, Nb, Rh, Ta, Re, Pt, Gd, and Tb. As is customary, ccECPs consist of spin orbit averaged relativistic effective potential (AREP) and effective spin-orbit (SO) terms. For the AREP part, our constructions are carried out within a relativistic coupled-cluster framework while also taking into account objective function one-particle characteristics for improved convergence in optimizations. The transferability is adjusted using binding curves of hydride and oxide molecules. We address the difficulties encountered with ƒ-elements, such as the presence of large cores and multiple near-degeneracies of excited levels. For these elements, we construct ccECPs with core valence partitioning that includes 4ƒ-subshell in the valence space. The developed ccECPs achieve an excellent balance between accuracy, size of the valence space, and transferability and are also suitable to be used in plane wave codes with reasonable energy cutoffs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2019

Electrochemical Studies of Selected Lanthanide and Californium Cryptates

Efforts to quantitatively reduce Cf III → Cf II in solution as well as studies of its cyclic voltammetry have been hindered by its scarcity, significant challenges associated with manipulating an unusually intense γ emitter, small reaction scales, the need for nonaqueous solvents, and its radiolytic effects on ligands and solvents. In an effort to overcome these impediments, we report on the stabilization of Cf II by encapsulation in 2.2.2-cryptand and comparisons with the readily reducible lanthanides, Sm 3+ , Eu 3+ , and Yb 3+ . Cyclic voltammetry measurements suggest that Cf III/II displays electrochemical behavior with characteristics of both Sm III/II and Yb III/II . The °E 1/2 values of −1.525 and −1.660 V (vs Fc/Fc + in tetrahydrofuran (THF)) for [Cf(2.2.2-crypt)] 3+/2+ and [Sm(2.2.2-crypt)] 3+/2+ , respectively, are similar. However, the ΔE values upon complexation by 2.2.2-cryptand for Cf III/II more closely parallels Yb III/II with postencapsulation shifts of 705 and 715 mV, respectively, whereas the shift of Sm III/II (520 mV) mirrors that of Eu III/II (524 mV). This suggests more structural similarities between Cf II and Yb II in solution than with Sm II that likely originates from more similar ionic radii and local coordination environments, a supposition that is corroborated by crystallographic and extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements from other systems. Competitive-ion binding experiments between Eu III/II , Sm III/II , and Yb III/II were also performed and show less favorable binding by Yb III/II . Connectivity structures of [Ln(2.2.2-cryptand)(THF)][BPh 4 ] 2 (Ln = Eu II , Sm II ) are reported to show the important role that THF plays in these redox reactions.

ethers↗

DOE OSTI2025

X-ray absorption spectroscopy of lanmodulin-derived peptides bound to rare earth elements

A sustainable and robust supply chain of rare earth elements (REEs) is necessary to meet our consumer, national security and clean energy goals. However, current intra-REE separation technologies (e.g. solvent extraction) are costly and carry a heavy environmental burden. Therefore, the development of new aqueous based ligands that are selective for individual REEs will be integral in future REE production systems. To develop these ligands, an understanding of how ligand coordination structure relates to selectivity is imperative. We used X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to observe the local structure around four lanthanide (Ln) ions (La, Ce, Pr and Nd) complexed by water and several relevant chelating ligands [lanmodulin EF-hand 1 peptides (LanM1), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), aminotris(methylenephosphonic acid) (ATMP) and citric acid]. To collect these liquid-phase XAS spectra, we developed a new flow cell that prevents bubble interference and beam damage to the samples. In the X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), we observed energy shifts in the white line, white line broadening and differences in the white line intensity of different Ln–ligand complexes between ligands. In the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), we distinguished differences in peak intensity and distance between coordinating ligands. Differences in the local coordination structure between Ln–LanM1 peptide complexes were more subtle compared with the other ligands (La–water, La–EDTA, La–ATMP and La–citric acid complexes). Further XANES and EXAFS studies, in combination with modelling and other techniques, could greatly improve our structural knowledge of how these aqueous ligands bind Ln ions and how they can be used to design more selective ligands for more efficient and sustainable REE separations.

EDTA↗

DOE OSTI2020

Actinide N-Donor Thermodynamics: Expanding the f-element Covalency Dialogue. Final report

Resolving the chemistry and physics of f-electrons is one of the grand challenges of science for energy technology. A central component of this challenge is describing covalency in actinide-ligand interactions. Crystallography, x-ray spectroscopy and computational techniques have provided reasonable, and in some cases remarkable, support for covalency in actinide-ligand interactions. Courtesy the quality of the results obtained, a significant portion of the covalency dialogue has been forwarded through solid-state and computational studies of the more stable actinides (Th, U, Pu, Np). However; recent reports have questioned whether covalency in actinide interactions increases or decreases across the series. Examination of less-stable trans-actinides (Am, Cm, Bk, Cf and Es) by the aforementioned approaches can be rapidly limited due to material availability, radiological hazards and experimental data to validate computational models. Furthermore, limited thermodynamic data exists to confirm covalency in actinide solution phase interactions that are highly relevant to the remediation and reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. The best-defined interactions of actinides with soft donors in aqueous solutions involve (poly)aminopolycarboxylate (APC) ligands. The chelate effect and binding affinity with the acetic acid APCs subgroups encourages amine interactions with the actinide metal center. In the absence of these factors, amine interactions with actinides are too weak to overcome the protective hydration shell of the dissolved ion. The ability for APCs to force actinide interactions with soft nitrogen donors (as defined by Pearson’s Hard Soft Acid Base theory) encourages the application of these ligands in a variety of processes for actinide recovery from nearly chemically identical lanthanides. The ability to functionalize the amine center of the ligand in a variety of capacities (adding additional amine groups, exchanging the conventional acetate group for an acetate group, etcetera), allows for the APC ligand to serve as a thermodynamic probe for actinide-nitrogen interactions. Perhaps the single most significant breakthrough during the previous funding cycle was the observation that covalency for the transplutonium part of the actinide series can be increasingly influenced with energy degeneracy driven covalency as the actinides become heavier. This was observed most predominantly with dipicolinic acid, but extensions of f-orbital degeneracy were found to affect aliphatic aminopolycarboxylate-actinide complexes through einsteinium.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2019

Adsorption kinetics, thermodynamics, and isotherm studies for functionalized lanthanide-chelating resins

Conventional ion exchange resins are widely utilized to remove metals from aqueous solutions, but their limited selectivity precludes dilute ion extraction. This research investigated the adsorption performance of ligand-functionalized resins towards rare earth elements (REE). Functionalized resin particles were synthesized by grafting different ligands (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic dianhydride (DTPADA), phosphonoacetic acid (PAA), or N,N-bis(phosphonomethyl)glycine (BPG)) onto pre-aminated polymeric adsorbents (diameter-0.6 mm). Lanthanide uptake trends were evaluated for the functionalized resins using batch adsorption experiments with a mixture of three REEs (Nd, Gd, and Ho at 0.1–1000 mg/L each). Resin physical-chemical properties were determined by measuring their surface area, ligand concentrations, and acidity constants. The aminated supports contained 4.0 mmol/g primary amines, and ligand densities for the functionalized resins were 0.33 mmol/g (PAA), 0.22 mmol/g (BPG), and 0.42 mmol/g (DTPADA). Kinetic studies revealed that the functionalized resins followed pseudo-second order binding kinetics with rates limited by intraparticle diffusion. Capacity estimates for total REE adsorption based on Langmuir q Max were 0.12 mg/g (amine; ≈ 0.77 µmol/g), 5.0 mg/g (PAA; ≈ 32.16 µmol/g), 3.0 mg/g (BPG; ≈ 19.30 µmol/g), and 2.9 mg/g (DTPADA; ≈ 18.65 µmol/g). Lastly, attaching ligands to the aminated resins greatly improved their REE binding strength and adsorption efficiency.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Gas-Phase Complexes of Americium and Lanthanides with a Bis-triazinyl Pyridine: Reactivity and Bonding of Archetypes for F-Element Separations

Bis-triazinyl pyridines (BTPs) exhibit solution selectivity for trivalent americium over lanthanides (Ln), the origins of which remain uncertain. Here in this paper, electrospray ionization was used to generate gas-phase complexes [ML 3 ] 3+ , where M = La, Lu, or Am and L is EtBTP 2,6-bis(5,6-diethyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-pyridine. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) of [ML 3 ] 3+ in the presence of H 2 O yielded a protonated ligand [L(H)] + and hydroxide [ML 2 (OH)] 2+ or hydrate [ML(L–H)(H 2 O)] 2+ , where (L–H) - is a deprotonated ligand. Although solution affinities indicate stronger binding of BTPs toward Am 3+ versus Ln 3+ , the observed CID process is contrastingly more facile for M = Am versus Ln. To understand the disparity, density functional theory was employed to compute potential energy surfaces for two possible CID processes, for M = La and Am. In accordance with the CID results, both the rate determining transition state barrier and the net energy are lower for [AmL 3 ] 3+ versus [LaL 3 ] 3+ and for both product isomers, [ML 2 (OH)] 2+ and [ML(L–H)(H 2 O)] 2+ . More facile removal of a ligand from [AmL 3 ] 3+ by CID does not necessarily contradict stronger Am 3+ –L binding, as inferred from solution behavior. In particular, the formation of new bonds in the products can distort kinetics and thermodynamics expected for simple bond cleavage reactions. In addition to correctly predicting the seemingly anomalous CID behavior, the computational results indicate greater participation of Am 5f versus La 4f orbitals in metal–ligand bonding.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2015

Complexation of Curium(III) with DTPA at 10–70 °C: Comparison with Eu(III)–DTPA in Thermodynamics, Luminescence, and Coordination Modes

Separation of trivalent actinides (An(III)) from trivalent lanthanides (Ln(III)) is a challenging task because of their nearly identical chemical properties. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA), a key reagent used in the TALSPEAK process that effectively separates An(III) from Ln(III), is believed to play a critical role in the An(III)/Ln(III) separation. However, the underlying principles for the separation based on the difference in the complexation of DTPA with An(III) and Ln(III) remain unclear. In this work, the complexation of DTPA with Cm(III) at 10-70 ºC was investigated by spectrophotometry, luminescence spectroscopy, and microcalorimetry, in conjunction with computational methods. The binding strength, the enthalpy of complexation, the coordination modes, and the luminescence properties are compared between the Cm(III)-DTPA and Eu(III)-DTPA systems. The experimental and computational data have demonstrated that the difference between Cm(III) and Eu(III) in the binding strength with DTPA can be attributed to the stronger covalence bonding between Cm(III) and the nitrogen donors of DTPA.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

Electronic structure of a nodal line semimetal candidate TbSbTe

The 𝐿⁢𝑛⁢SbTe (𝐿⁢𝑛 = Lanthanides) family, like isostructural ZrSiS-type compounds, has emerged as a fertile playground for exploring the interaction of electronic correlations and magnetic ordering with the nodal line band topology. Here, we report on a detailed electronic band structure investigation of TbSbTe, corroborated by electrical transport, thermodynamic, and magnetic studies. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility and thermodynamic transport studies indicate the onset of antiferromagnetic ordering below 𝑇 𝑁 ∼ 5.8K. The electronic band structure study, carried out with high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements aided with density functional theory–based first-principles calculations reveal presence of a nonsymmorphic symmetry-protected Dirac crossing in the Γ-X high-symmetry (HS) direction, which is part of a nodal line along the X-R HS direction. Another Dirac crossing occurs along the Γ-X direction at a relatively higher binding energy, which occurs from $\tilde{𝒞}$ 2⁢𝜈⁢ 𝒫 symmetry which is gapped in the theoretical calculations with the effect of spin-orbit coupling considered. Parallel to this direction, our theoretical calculations and experimental results exhibit strongly momentum-dependent surface bands. In this study, we open an avenue to further uncover the intricate interplay among symmetry-protected topological band structure, spin-orbit coupling, and magnetism in this material and the 𝐿⁢𝑛⁢SbTe family, in general.

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy↗

DOE OSTI2014

AM(VI) partitioning studies. FY14 final report

The use of higher oxidation states of americium in partitioning from the lanthanides is under continued investigation by the sigma team. This is based on the hypothesis that Am(VI) can be produced and remain stable in irradiated first cycle raffinate solution long enough to perform solvent extraction for separations. The stability of Am(VI) to autoreduction was measured using millimolar americium concentrations in a 1-cm cell with a Cary 6000 UV/Vis spectrophotometer for data acquisition. At millimolar americium concentrations, Am(VI) is stable enough against its own autoreduction for separations purposes. A second major accomplishment during FY14 was the hot test. Americium oxidation and extraction was performed using a centrifugal contactor-based test bed consisting of an extraction stage and two stripping stages. Sixty-three percent americium extraction was obtained in one extraction stage, in agreement with batch contacts. Promising electrochemical oxidation results have also been obtained, using terpyridine ligand derivatized electrodes for binding of Am(III). Approximately 50 % of the Am(III) was oxidized to Am(V) over the course of 1 hour. It is believed that this is the first demonstration of the electrolytic oxidation of americium in a non-complexing solution. Finally, an initial investigation of Am(VI) extraction using diethylhexylbutyramide (DEHBA) was performed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

2023 American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) 71st Annual Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics

Introduction (120 words max) Understanding metal-cluster chemistry occuring at solvent boundaries in the aqueous and organic phases has applications in environments from cellular processes to nuclear fuel reprocessing. Transport of metal ions at the boundaries from aqueous to organic phases involves forming a metal-ligand complex, and wherever the initial metal coordination environment is significantly different from the final one, the metal transitions through a series of transient species in passing from one phase to another. Here an investigation of the role of coordination in the chemistry of the transient species using gas-phase measurements that are free of solvent effects to better understand the binding of complexes of metals with triphenylphosphine chalcogenide ligands, examining metal-ligand homo- and hetero-dimers to better understand transient species. Methods (120 word max) Mass spectrometry and collision induced dissociation (CID) experiments were performed with a Bruker (Billerica, MA, USA) micrOTOF-Q II quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (QTOF) and Bruker amaZon speed ETD (ion trap). High resolution/high mass accuracy spectra were generated using the QTOF. External calibration was performed with Agilent (Santa Clara, CA, USA) ESI-L Low Concentration tuning mix. Both mass spectrometers were equipped with either the electrospray ionization source or nanospray sources. Metal samples were prepared between 40 – 60 uM of the metal-ligand complex in 25% water and 75% acetonitrile. Metal-ion clusters were isolated and subjected to collision induced dissociation. Density functional theory calculations were performed. Preliminary Data or Plenary Speakers Abstract (300 words max) Metal ion clusters with triphenylphosphine chalcogenide ligands were observed for group I metals with triphenylphosphine chalcogenide samples in the mass spectrum upon electrospray ionization. For each metal ligand complex of interest, the parent ion was isolated and collision induced dissociation fragmentation spectra were acquired. We observed clusters of group I metal with triphenylphosphine oxide, triphenyl phosphine sulfide, and triphenylphosphine selenide, with homodimers and heterodimer formation. In samples where the ligands were mixed, we observed mixed sodium ligand clusters at varying amounts. These mixed ligand clusters were fragmented. Metal clusters of mixed ligand dimers containing triphenylphosphine oxide showed preferential loss of the other ligand, either triphenylphosphine sulfide or triphenyl selenide. In samples with mixed triphenylphosphine sulfide and triphenylphosphine selenium ligands, sodium bound similarly between the ligands, and losses were more evenly split, showing loss ratio upon CID with losses of triphenylphosphine sulfide:triphenylphosphine selenide 43:57 ratio observed on CID. These results suggest that the oxide binds significantly more strongly than either the selenium or sulfur triphenylphosphine ligand, and the sulfur and selenium ligands are more evenly bound. Calculations were performed using density functional theory to calculate likely structures and bond energies between the group I metal and the ligands. Novel Aspect Novel analysis of sodium bound dimers with chalcogenide triphenylphosphine ligands were investigated using mass spectrometry and theoretical calculations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2017

End-On Bridging Dinitrogen Complex of Scandium

The first (N=N) 2- complex of a rare-earth metal with an end-on dinitrogen bridge, {K(crypt)} 2 {[(R 2 N) 3 Sc] 2 [μ-η 1 :η 1 -n 2 ]} (crypt = 2.2.2-cryptand, R = SiMe 3 ), has been isolated from the reduction of Sc(NR 2 ) 3 under dinitrogen at —35 °C and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The structure differs from the characteristic side-on structures previously observed for over 40 crystallographically-characterized rare-earth metal (N=N) 2- complexes of formula [A 2 Ln(THF) x ] 2 [μ-η 2 :η 2 -N 2 ] (Ln = Sc, Y, and lanthanides; x = 0, 1; A = anionic ligand such as amide, cyclopentadienide, and aryloxide). The 1.221(3) Å N—N distance and the 1644 cm -1 Raman stretch are consistent with the presence of an (N=N) 2- bridge. The observed paramagnetism of the complex by NMR spectroscopy and Evans method measurements is consistent with DFT calculations that suggest a triplet( 3 A 2 ) ground state in D 3 symmetry involving two degenerate Sc—N 2 —Sc bonding orbitals. Upon brief exposure of the orange Sc 3+ bridging dinitrogen complex to UV-light, photolysis to form the monomeric Sc 2+ complex, [K(crypt)][Sc(NR 2 ) 3 ], was observed. Conversion of the Sc 2+ complex to the SO 3+ dinitrogen complex was not observed with this crypt system, but it did occur with the 18-crown-6 (crown) analog which formed {K(crown)} 2 {[(R 2 N) 3 Sc] 2 [μ-η 1 :η 1 -N 2 ]}. This suggests the importance of the alkali metal chelating agent in the reversibility of dinitrogen binding in this scandium system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗