Molecular Design of Chelating Ligands with Highly Selective Recognition and Separation Functions for Group 13 Metal Ions (INTERFACE SCIENCE-Separation Chemistry)

Highly selective ligands for group 13 metal ions (Al3+, Ga3+ and In3+) have been successfully designed taking into consideration the bite size (O-O distance in the chelate ring) and the interligand contact in the complex. The complexation of Al3+ was found to be under the effect of the interligand contact and that of In3+ the bite size. The appropriate substituents were introduced to b-diketone type ligands to control the bite size and the volume of the ligand.