Structural Insight into Complexation Ability and Coordination of Uranyl Nitrate by 1,10-Phenanthroline-2,9-diamides.

Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is an important task in a frame of ecology and rational use of natural resources. Uranium, as the main component of SNF (>95%), can be recovered for further use as fresh nuclear fuel. To minimize an amount of solid radioactive waste generated during SNF reprocessing, new extractants are under investigation. Diamides of 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid are perspective tetradentate N-donor ligands that form strong complexes with f-elements, which are soluble in polar organic solvents. As an example of three ligands of this class, we conducted a comparative study and showed how the substituent in the amide functional group affects the extraction ability toward uranyl nitrate from nitric acid media. We have performed a careful study (NMR, FT-IR, XRD, RMC-EXAFS) of the structures of synthesized complexes of new ligands with uranyl nitrate and used quantum mechanical calculations to explain the discovered regularities through.

A novel highly selective ligand for separation of actinides and lanthanides in the nuclear fuel cycle. Experimental verification of the theoretical prediction.

We have predicted earlier by DFT simulation that tridentate O,N,O-donor cyclic dilactams (B) belonging to the family of pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamides are much more selective and efficient extractants for the separation of lanthanides and actinides than open-structure pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamides due to the higher degree of "ligand preorganization". In the present work, three new ligands of type (B) were synthesized. Extraction experiments showed that, in line with the data from DFT simulation, these ligands have 5-6-fold higher selectivity for the separation of an Am3+/Eu3+ pair and provide distribution coefficients D which are by three orders of magnitude higher than those for the related parent ligands with an open structure. Determination of the solvate numbers (SNs) for Eu3+ and Am3+ cations by slope analysis has shown that the stoichiometry of complexes, in the form of which these ions pass from the aqueous into the organic phase, depends to a considerable extent on the polarity of the organic solvent. Strongly polar solvents (ε > 20) extract these cations mainly in the form of 1 : 1 complexes LM(NO3)3 having according to the DFT simulation the largest dipole moments (µ = 18.6-19.7 D). The solvents of low polarity (ε ≤ 10) extract these cations mainly in the form of less polar 2 : 1 complexes L2M(NO3)3 (µ ≈ 1.6 D). For solvents of intermediate polarity fractional values of solvate numbers were obtained which indicates the coexistence of complexes LM(NO3)3 and L2M(NO3)3 in the organic phase.

Cyclization of N-arylcyclopropanecarboxamides into N-arylpyrrolidin-2-ones under electron ionization and in the condensed phase.

RATIONALE: Mass spectrometry is known as an excellent method to predict the behavior of organic compounds in solution. The behavior of organic compounds in the gas phase inside the ion source of a mass spectrometer allows their intrinsic properties to be defined, avoiding the influence of intermolecular interactions, counter ions and solvent effects. METHODS: Arylpyrrolidin-2-ones were obtained by condensed-phase synthesis from the corresponding N-arylcyclopropanecarboxamides. Electron ionization (EI) with accurate mass measurements by high-resolution time-of-flight mass-spectrometry and quantum chemical calculations were used to understand the behavior of the molecular radical cations of N-arylcyclopropanecarboxamides and N-arylpyrrolidin-2-ones in the ion source of a mass spectrometer. The geometries of the molecules, transition states, and intermediates were fully optimized using DFT-PBE calculations. RESULTS: Fragmentation schemes, ion structures, and possible mechanisms of primary isomerisation were proposed for isomeric N-arylcyclopropanecarboxamides and N-arylpyrrolidin-2-ones. Based on the fragmentation pattern of the N-arylcyclopropanecarboxamides, isomerisation of the original M+• ions into the M+• ions of the N-arylpyrrolidin-2-ones was shown to be only a minor process. In contrast, this cyclization proceeds easily in the condensed phase in the presence of Brønsted acids. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the experimental data and quantum chemical calculations the principal mechanism of decomposition of the molecular ions of N-arylcyclopropanecarboxamides involves their direct fragmentation without any rearrangements. An alternative mechanism is responsible for the isomerisation of a small portion of the higher energy molecular ions into the corresponding N-arylpyrrolidin-2-one ions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

N,N'-Dialkyl-N,N'-diaryl-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxamides as donor ligands for separation of rare earth elements with a high and unusual selectivity. DFT computational and experimental studies.

N,N'-Dialkyl-N,N'-diaryl-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxamides (IV) were predicted (DFT simulation) and then were proved experimentally to be efficient donor ligands with high and unusual selectivity for the extraction separation of lanthanides. Distribution coefficients D of lanthanide cations in two-phase aqueous solution-polar organic solvent decrease with increasing Ln(3+) atomic number. The selectivity factors SFLn1/Ln2 for adjacent lanthanide ions were found to be about 3.

Expanding sapphyrin: towards selective phosphate binding.

The anion-templated syntheses and binding properties of novel macrocyclic oligopyrrole receptors in which pyrrole rings are linked through amide or imine bonds are described. The efficient synthesis was accomplished by anion-templated [1+1] Schiff-base condensation and acylation macrocyclization reactions. Free receptors and their host-guest complexes with hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, tetrabutylammonium chloride, and hydrogen sulfate were analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Stability constants with different tetrabutylammonium salts of inorganic acids were determined by standard 1H NMR and UV/Vis titration techniques in [D6]DMSO/0.5% water solution. According to the titration data, receptors containing three pyrrole rings (10 and 12) exhibit high affinity (log Ka=5-7) for bifluoride, acetate, and dihydrogen phosphate, and interact weakly with chloride and hydrogen sulfate. The amido-bipyrrole receptors 11 and 13 with four pyrrole rings exhibit 10(4)- and 10(2)-fold selectivity for dihydrogen phosphate, respectively, as inferred from competitive titrations in the presence of tetrabutylammonium acetate.