Plutonium sequestering agents

Heterocycles as ligands in sequestering agents for plutonium and other actinides 03CRV4207. 

Of all the sequestering agents tested to date, 3,4,3-LICAMS, a derivative of the natural product spermine, is the most effective in plutonium removal at low dosages. 

Figure 2. Possible fate of soluble plutonium species released during the dissolution of PuOg in aerobic environmental media. Both Pu(IV) and Pu(VI) species will complex with endemic ions or sequestering agents and eventually will be sorbed to the solid phase of sod or sediment.

The most promising actinide squestering agents yet prepared (Table IX) are the sulfonated catechoylamide derivatives of linear tetra-amines. These compounds appear to strongly bind tetravalent actinides, while only weak complexation has been observed for trivalent and divalent metals. A derivative of the natural product spermine, 3,4,3-LICAMS, is more effective in plutonium removal at low dosages than any other sequestering agent tested to date. 

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