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A new phosphine oxide ligand demonstrates high selectivity for the Am–Cm pair with SF = 2.9–3.5 and the Am–Eu pair with SF = 7.3–8.5 in a range of 0.1–3 M nitric acid. Thermodynamic measurements show that the entropy factor is responsible for selectivity observed in the extraction experiment. The most prevalent complexes of all three metal ions were (Ph2PyPO)2M(NO3)3. According to their DFT modelling, the M–N distances for the Cm ion were larger than those for Am, so the last ion enters deeper into the pseudo-cavity of the ligand, which causes the observed selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction of americium and lanthanides by diamides of 2,2′-dipyridyl-6,6′-dicarboxilic acid solutions in polar diluents was investigated. The dependence of extraction properties of the diamides on their structure was studied and the distribution ratios of americium and lanthanides from nitric acid solutions were determined. The highest extraction was found for the compounds with the ethyl-group and the alkyl-substituted aryl-group on the amidic nitrogen. The Am/Ln separation factors higher than 10 were achieved for extraction from high acidity media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]