Complexation of Np(V) with diglycolamide in an ionic liquid

In the recent past, room temperature ionic liquids (IL) have gained the status of 'design' solvents, where the properties of the solvent can be tailored through the judicious choice of their cationic and anionic components. The separation studies in ILs have shown unusually high extractability for metal ions, several orders of magnitude higher than those observed in molecular solvent like dodecane. The nature of bonding between the metal ions and the ligands in ILs is, however, not clearly understood. Recent studies have shown that the complexes of UO₂²⁺ with TMDGA (N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl diglycolamide) formed in IL phase (C_4mim._Tf₂N) are several times stronger than those formed in the aqueous medium. The first complex of NpO +/DGA is formed by replacing the 2H₂O molecules from the primary coordination sphere of the central Np atom, and the overall complex remains unsymmetrical, and shows absorption