Recognition of some lanthanides, actinides, and transition- and heavy-metal cations by N-donor ligands: thermodynamic and kinetic aspects.

The remarkable actinide(III) selectivity of the polyaromatic N-donors bis-triazine-pyridines (BTPs), hemi-bis-triazine-pyridines (hemi-BTPs) and bis-triazine-bipyridines (BTBPs) make these ligands the most promising candidates in partitioning and transmutation processes developed so far to better manage nuclear waste. The interactions of n-Pr-BTP, C(5)-hemi-BTP, and the two most extensively investigated BTBPs (C(5)-BTBP and CyMe(4)-BTBP) have been studied with some representative lanthanide(III), uranyl, thorium, and transition- and other heavy-metal cations in methanol. The formation of complexes of different stoichiometries, the stability of which depended on both the ligands and the cations, was shown using UV absorption spectrophotometry. Study of the complexation reactions of La(3+), Eu(3+) and Yb(3+) with these four ligands by stopped-flow spectrophotometry allowed determination of the rate constants and postulation of possible complexation mechanisms.