1
|
Dong X, Hao H, Chen J, Wang Z, Xu C. Redox stabilization of Am(v) in a biphasic extraction system boosts americium/lanthanides separation efficiency. Chem Sci 2024; 15:2118-2122. [PMID: 38332823 PMCID: PMC10848673 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc06240f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Americium (Am) is a key radioactive element in consideration in nuclear waste treatment. Separation of Am from the fission products, lanthanides, is a prerequisite to minimize the hazardous impact of Am and make utilization of rare Am isotopes, but it represents a great challenge due to the chemical similarity between the two groups of elements. Herein, we realize the separation by first oxidizing Am(iii) to high valent Am(vi) and then converting it to Am(v) in situ in a biphasic extraction system with Bi(v) oxidant incorporated in an organic phase. Am(v) is highly stabilized during the separation process and this leads to record high Ln/Am separation factors (>105) in a single contact over a wide range of acidities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xue Dong
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University 100084 Beijing China
| | - Huaixin Hao
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University 100084 Beijing China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University 100084 Beijing China
| | - Zhipeng Wang
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University 100084 Beijing China
| | - Chao Xu
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University 100084 Beijing China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhang H, Li A, Li K, Wang Z, Xu X, Wang Y, Sheridan MV, Hu HS, Xu C, Alekseev EV, Zhang Z, Yan P, Cao K, Chai Z, Albrecht-Schönzart TE, Wang S. Ultrafiltration separation of Am(VI)-polyoxometalate from lanthanides. Nature 2023; 616:482-487. [PMID: 37076728 PMCID: PMC10115636 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05840-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
Partitioning of americium from lanthanides (Ln) present in used nuclear fuel plays a key role in the sustainable development of nuclear energy1-3. This task is extremely challenging because thermodynamically stable Am(III) and Ln(III) ions have nearly identical ionic radii and coordination chemistry. Oxidization of Am(III) to Am(VI) produces AmO22+ ions distinct with Ln(III) ions, which has the potential to facilitate separations in principle. However, the rapid reduction of Am(VI) back to Am(III) by radiolysis products and organic reagents required for the traditional separation protocols including solvent and solid extractions hampers practical redox-based separations. Herein, we report a nanoscale polyoxometalate (POM) cluster with a vacancy site compatible with the selective coordination of hexavalent actinides (238U, 237Np, 242Pu and 243Am) over trivalent lanthanides in nitric acid media. To our knowledge, this cluster is the most stable Am(VI) species in aqueous media observed so far. Ultrafiltration-based separation of nanoscale Am(VI)-POM clusters from hydrated lanthanide ions by commercially available, fine-pored membranes enables the development of a once-through americium/lanthanide separation strategy that is highly efficient and rapid, does not involve any organic components and requires minimal energy input.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hailong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Ao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Kai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Zhipeng Wang
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaocheng Xu
- Department of Chemistry and Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yaxing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
| | - Matthew V Sheridan
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Han-Shi Hu
- Department of Chemistry and Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Xu
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| | | | - Zhenyi Zhang
- Bruker (Beijing) Scientific Technology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China
| | - Pu Yan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of High-resolution Electron Microscopy, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kecheng Cao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of High-resolution Electron Microscopy, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhifang Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Thomas E Albrecht-Schönzart
- Department of Chemistry and Nuclear Science & Engineering Center, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA.
| | - Shuao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wang Z, Lu JB, Dong X, Yan Q, Feng X, Hu HS, Wang S, Chen J, Li J, Xu C. Ultra-Efficient Americium/Lanthanide Separation through Oxidation State Control. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:6383-6389. [PMID: 35353513 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c00594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Lanthanide/actinide separation is a worldwide challenge for atomic energy and nuclear waste treatment. Separation of americium (Am), a critical actinide element in the nuclear fuel cycle, from lanthanides (Ln) is highly desirable for minimizing the long-term radiotoxicity of nuclear waste, yet it is extremely challenging given the chemical similarity between trivalent Am(III) and Ln(III). Selective oxidation of Am(III) to a higher oxidation state (OS) could facilitate this separation, but so far, it is far from satisfactory for practical application as a result of the unstable nature of Am in a high OS. Herein, we find a novel strategy to generate stable pentavalent Am (Am(V)) through coordination of Am(III) with a diglycolamide ligand and oxidation with Bi(V) species in the presence of an organic solvent. This strategy leads to efficient stabilization of Am(V) and an extraordinarily high separation factor (>104) of Am from Ln through one single contact in solvent extraction, thereby opening a new avenue to study the high-OS chemistry of Am and fulfill the crucial task of Ln/Am separation in the nuclear fuel cycle. The synergistic coordination and oxidation process is found to occur in the organic solvent, and the mechanism has been well elucidated by quantum-theoretical modeling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhipeng Wang
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jun-Bo Lu
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xue Dong
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Qiang Yan
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiaogui Feng
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Han-Shi Hu
- Department of Chemistry and Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Shuao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jing Chen
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.,Department of Chemistry and Key Laboratory of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chao Xu
- Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang H. Runde
- G.T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
| | - Bruce J. Mincher
- Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, United States
| |
Collapse
|