Some unexpected “structure–extraction properties” patterns were found for new family of 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-diamide derived ligands.

In this work we report on new examples of phenanthrolindiamides containing asymmetric centers in amide substituents. The synthesized ligands are expected to have complex thermodynamic behavior. Their structure was unambiguously...

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.

An efficient approach to the synthesis of diamides of 4,7-difluoro-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid was elaborated. Direct nucleophilic substitution with 4,7-dichloro-1,10-phenanthroline precursors opened access to difluoro derivatives in high yield. As a result, four new fluorinated ligands were prepared in up to 88% yield. Their structure was proved by a combination of spectral methods and X-ray data. A set of lanthanoid complexes was prepared to demonstrate the utility of new ligands. The structure of the complexes was studied in solid state (IR-spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction) and in solution (NMR-spectroscopy).