Extraction of lanthanides and actinides by a magnetically assisted chemical separation technique based on CMPO-calix[4]arenes

A novel particulate system carrying CMPO ligands pre-organised on a calixarene scaffold has been synthesised and demonstrated to extract Eu3+, Am3+ and Ce3+ at high efficiency from simulated nuclear waste streams.

Rigidified Calixarenes Bearing Four Carbamoylmethylphosphineoxide or Carbamoylmethylphosphoryl Functions at the Wide Rim

Conformationally rigidified tetraCMPO derivatives have been prepared from calix[4]arene bis(crown ether) 4 a in which adjacent oxygens are bridged at the narrow rim by two diethylene glycol links. Acylation of the tetraamine 4 c with the CMPO-active ester 5 b gave the tetraphosphine oxide 6 a, while the tetraphosphinate 6 b and the tetraphosphonate 6 c were obtained by Arbuzov reaction of tetrabromoacetamido derivative 7 with PhP(OEt)2 or P(OEt)3. The extraction ability of these CMPO derivatives was checked for selected lanthanides and actinides and compared with the analogous compounds 1 b, 10 b and 10 d derived from calix[4]arene tetrapentyl ether. All rigidified bis(crown ether) ligands …

ChemInform Abstract: Conformationally Mobile Wide Rim Carbamoylmethylphosphine Oxide (CMPO)-Calixarenes.

Conformationally Mobile Wide Rim Carbamoylmethylphosphine Oxide (CMPO)-Calixarenes

Six new calix[4]arene derivatives 2a–f have been synthesised, bearing CMPO-like functions (-NH–C(O)–CH2–P(O)Ph2) at their wide rim. They differ by their alkoxy groups at the narrow rim, comprising all possible combinations of methoxy and syn-propoxy groups including the conformationally mobile tetramethyl ether 2e and the tetrapropyl ether 2f fixed in the cone conformation. Their extraction behaviour for thorium(IV) and several lanthanides(III) from 1M HNO3 to dichloromethane has been studied and compared also to non cyclic calixarene analogues 6a–e. Surprisingly the best extraction results were found for the 1,2-dimethoxy-3,4-dipropoxy derivative 2c among the calixarenes and for the tetram…

Dendrimer-coated magnetic particles for radionuclide separation

Magnetic particles were synthesised for radionuclide removal from nuclear wastes by magnetic separation. Dendrimers with terminal amino groups attached to the particle surface were used to bind chelating groups for lanthanides and actinides. This led to a 50–400-fold increase of the distribution coefficients for europium and americium in comparison to the reference particles without the dendrimers. Back-extraction studies have demonstrated the possibility of multiple particle recycling.

Separation of lanthanides and actinides using magnetic silica particles bearing covalently attached tetra-CMPO-calix[4]arenes

Calix[4]arene tetraethers in the cone conformation bearing four –NH–CO–CH2–P(O)Ph2 (= CMPO) residues on their wide rim and one, two or four ω-amino alkyl residues of various lengths at the narrow rim were synthesized. Reaction with dichlorotriazinyl (DCT) functionalized magnetic particles led to complete coverage of the available surface by covalently linked CMPO-calix[4]arenes in all cases. Magnetically assisted removal of Eu(III) and Am(III) from acidic solutions was distinctly more efficient with these particles in comparison to analogous particles bearing the same amount of analogous single-chain CMPO-functions. The best result, an increase of the extraction efficiency by a factor of 14…

Modification of calix[4]arenes with CMPO-functions at the wide rim. Synthesis, solution behavior, and separation of actinides from lanthanides

Two calix[4]arene tetraethers (Y = C5H11, C14H29) bearing on their wide rim four –N(Me)–CO–CH2–P(O)Ph2 residues were synthesized for the first time. Their ability to extract lanthanides and actinides from an acidic aqueous phase to organic phases (CH2Cl2, NPHE) was studied. In comparison to the corresponding –NH-analogs, they are less efficient extractants, the selectivity for the light over the heavy lanthanides is less pronounced, while there is still an interesting selectivity of Am3+ over Eu3+. Stability constants for selected lanthanide salts were determined also in homogenous phase (methanol, acetonitrile) but do not account for the different extraction results. The complexation of Gd…

CMPO-substituted calix[6]- and calix[8]arene extractants for the separation of An3+/Ln3+ from radioactive waste

Abstract Three calix[6]arene derivatives ( 1a – c ) and two calix[8]arene derivatives ( 2a , b ), with six and eight CMPO residues, respectively, attached to the narrow/lower rim via ether links, were synthesised. Preliminary liquid–liquid extraction studies for Eu(III) and Am(III) from aqueous nitric acid to o -nitrophenylhexyl ether reveal remarkable properties with respect to efficiency and selectivity, especially for the tert -butylcalix[6]arene derivative with a –(CH 2 ) 3 – spacer.

Dendritic octa-CMPO derivatives of calix[4]arenes

Abstract Calix[4]arenes substituted at the narrow or wide rim by eight carbamoylmethyl-phosphine oxide (CMPO) functions in a dendritic manner were synthesised and studied in extraction of Eu 3+ and Am 3+ from aqueous nitric acid into o -nitrophenylhexyl ether. 1 H NMR relaxivity titrations for a wide rim octa-CMPO reveal the clear formation of a solvent-free 1:2 ligand/metal complex, while the wide rim tetra-CMPO formed oligomeric complexes under similar conditions.