Study of Uranyl and Lanthanides Interactions with CMPOs by Ion Trap Mass Spectroscopy

Uranium extraction and recycling are of critical importance due to the expensiveness of ²³⁵U production and the waste disposal. This is also true for many other radioactive elements. Therefore, extractants tailored for uranyl coordination have been developed over recent years. One of the best examples is the Carbamoylmethilphosphine Oxide (CMPO) family. This bidentate-coordination ligand has proved efficient in the extraction of uranyl cations from a mixture of ions. However, by a relatively simple methodology reported by the PI, et al. new potential tridentate-coordination molecules were designed by the introduction of a methyl-carbonyl group in the alpha position of the CMPO. These novel molecules were tested for their ability to bind in a tridentate fashion to uranyl, lanthanides, and even other non-rare-earth metals by using ion trap mass spectroscopy. Preliminary results show that CMPOs with an extra coordination site are able to bind in a tridentate fashion therefore eliminating part of the need of other ions like nitrates or water to fulfill the coordination sphere. We wish to present advances in synthesis of CMPOs as well as comparing binding abilities of “classical” CMPO models to novel tridentate CMPOs.