PNNL

Abstract

One method of treatment under consideration for precessing of high-level radioactive fuel materials involves nuclear incineration. The success of the approach, in part, depends on the separation of minor actinides Am and Cm from the dominant actinides U and Pu prior to incineration. Therefore, there is fundamental interest, as well as practical demands, for the development of new selective coordination and separations chemistry for these species in aqueous solutions. Several families of ligands such as carbamoylmethylphophonates (CMP), (RO)2P(O)CH2C(O)NR2, carbamoylmethylphophine oxides (CMPO), R2P(O)CH2C(O)NR2, and alkyl malonamides, [RR'NC(O)2"H, have attracted the greatest attention as selective acinide ion chelators due in part to their stability toward strong radiation fields, as well as their ability to function in contact with the acidic aqueous solutions typically used to handle the actinide ions. In our group, we have been developing another family of ligands that offer promising performance in actinide separations: phosphinomethylpyridine-N-oxides, NOPO and NOPOPO.