A Novel Bicyclic Diamide with High Binding Affinity for Trivalent f‐Block Elements

Abstract

A new bicyclic diamide compound, 3,9‐diaza‐3,9‐dioctylbicyclo[4.4.0]decane‐2,10‐dione (1) has been prepared, and its affinity for Eu³⁺ and Am³⁺ has been explored using liquid–liquid extraction methods. Molecular mechanics calculations have shown that the two amide oxygen atoms in 1 should be ideally situated for binding to trivalent actinide or lanthanide ions and should form strong complexes. The data in this report support this hypothesis. As determined by liquid–liquid extraction, the affinity of 1 for Eu³⁺ is on the order of 10⁷ times greater than previously investigated malonamides. The extraction behavior for Am³⁺ is similar to that of Eu³⁺.

Keywords:

• Europium
• Americium
• Diamide
• Extraction

Acknowledgments

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle under Contract DE‐AC06‐76RL01830. This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Environmental Management Science Program. The authors thank S. A. Bryan and W. C. Cosby for reviewing the manuscript. We also gratefully acknowledge Dr. Marie‐Christine Charbonnel of the Commissariat a l'Énergie Atomique (France) for graciously supplying samples of diamides 2b and 2c.