Actinide and Lanthanide Coordination Chemistry and Ionic Liquid Separation
This community investigates the fundamental bonding, structure, and reactivity of heavy metals—specifically actinides and lanthanides—while developing solvent systems, such as ionic liquids, to separate and process these elements for nuclear fuel cycles and advanced materials.
The work centers on the synthesis and characterization of metal complexes, with a heavy emphasis on uranyl ions and actinide-lanthanide pairs. Researchers apply density functional theory and molecular dynamics to model electronic structures and bonding in these heavy elements. A significant portion of the literature focuses on solvent extraction and separation techniques, utilizing ionic liquids and nitric acid solutions to isolate specific isotopes or elements. The community also explores the integration of these metals into metal-organic frameworks and coordination polymers, aiming to create stable structures for applications ranging from scintillators to catalytic processes.
Uranium research accounts for 6.6% of all uranium studies, with 7,364 papers in this group. Thorium and plutonium each represent 3.9% of their respective element research, contributing 1,503 and 1,438 papers. Nitrogen research contributes the highest raw paper count (3,502) but represents only 0.6% of total nitrogen studies.
The community comprises 28,672 papers, publishing primarily in Inorganic Chemistry, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Dalton Transactions.
Recent work includes the development of cellulose-mediated ionic liquid crystallization for switchable ionogels, the stabilization of neptunium(IV) in aqueous solution via polyoxometalates, and the design of water-stable uranyl-cluster based metal–organic frameworks for thermal adaptive scintillators.