Capturing Uranium

Capturing Uranium

Author: ChemistryViews

The Earth’s oceans are a source of uranium, but due to the low concentration of uranyl ions (UO22+) (3 ppb) and the abundance of other cations the extraction of uranium requires chelating agents with high affinity and selectivity.

Julius Rebek and colleagues, Scripps Research Institute, USA, report a tripodal ligand capable of extracting uranyl ions from aqueous solutions. The ligand consists of a rigid skeleton with three carboxylates that can bind uranyl in a bidentate manner.

Extraction experiments at 400 ppm of uranyl ion showed 59 % of the uranyl ions were extracted into the organic phase. In the presence of Cl, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, and SO42–, at levels similar to those in seawater, the chelating ligand showed high selectivity and no lessening of function with 59 % of UO22+ being transferred to the organic phase.


Leave a Reply

Kindly review our community guidelines before leaving a comment.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *