Highly efficient diglycolamide-based task-specific ionic liquids: synthesis, unusual extraction behaviour, irradiation, and fluorescence studies.

Two new diglycolamide-based task-specific ionic liquids (DGA-TSILs) were evaluated for the extraction of actinides and lanthanides from acidic feed solutions. These DGA-TSILs were capable of exceptionally high extraction of trivalent actinide ions, such as Am(3+), and even higher extraction of the lanthanide ion, Eu(3+) (about 5-10 fold). Dilution of the DGA-TSILs in an ionic liquid, C(4)mim(+)·NTf(2)(-), afforded reasonably high extraction ability, faster mass transfer, and more efficient stripping of the metal ion. The nature of the extracted species was studied by slope analysis, which showed that the extracted species contained one NO(3)(-) anion, along with the participation of two DGA-TSIL molecules. Time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) analysis showed a strong complexation with no inner-sphere water molecule in the Eu(III)-DGA-TSIL complexes in the presence and absence of C(4)mim(+)·NTf(2)(-) as the diluent. The very high radiolytic stability of DGA-TSIL 6 makes it one of the most-efficient solvent systems for the extraction of actinides under acidic feed conditions.