The demand for ^(238)Pu (nuclear battery heat source) drives the separation of its precursor,^(237)Np,from spent nuclear fuel (SNF).However,the co-existence of multi-valence states (Ⅳ/Ⅴ/Ⅵ) of Np and similar redox b...The demand for ^(238)Pu (nuclear battery heat source) drives the separation of its precursor,^(237)Np,from spent nuclear fuel (SNF).However,the co-existence of multi-valence states (Ⅳ/Ⅴ/Ⅵ) of Np and similar redox behavior with Pu(Ⅳ) hinder the effective separation of Np.N-Butyraldehyde (n-C_(3)H_(7)CHO) selectively reduces Np(Ⅵ) to Np(Ⅴ) without reducing Pu(Ⅳ).Herein,we examined the reduction mechanisms of Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) by n-C3H7CHO using relativistic density functional theory.Based on the results of the potential energy profiles,the reductions of both Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) by n-C_(3)H_(7)CHO are thermodynamically feasible,whereas only the former is kinetically achievable.It uncovers that n-C_(3)H_(7)CHO can only reduce Np(Ⅵ) to Np(Ⅴ) owing to kinetically controlled selective reduction.The analyses of spin density and bond distance indicate that the reduction nature for the first Np(Ⅵ)/Pu(Ⅳ) belongs to hydrogen atom transfer,whereas that for the second one involves outer-sphere electron transfer.Localized molecular orbitals (LMOs) analysis discloses the bonding evolution during the reduction process of Np(Ⅵ)/Pu(Ⅳ).This study elucidates the reason behind the kinetically controlled selective reduction of Np(Ⅵ)/Pu(Ⅳ) by nC3H7CHO at the molecular level and offers in-depth perspectives on the isolation of specific metal ions from the view of kinetic control.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.22376197,U2441225,22076188).
文摘The demand for ^(238)Pu (nuclear battery heat source) drives the separation of its precursor,^(237)Np,from spent nuclear fuel (SNF).However,the co-existence of multi-valence states (Ⅳ/Ⅴ/Ⅵ) of Np and similar redox behavior with Pu(Ⅳ) hinder the effective separation of Np.N-Butyraldehyde (n-C_(3)H_(7)CHO) selectively reduces Np(Ⅵ) to Np(Ⅴ) without reducing Pu(Ⅳ).Herein,we examined the reduction mechanisms of Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) by n-C3H7CHO using relativistic density functional theory.Based on the results of the potential energy profiles,the reductions of both Np(Ⅵ) and Pu(Ⅳ) by n-C_(3)H_(7)CHO are thermodynamically feasible,whereas only the former is kinetically achievable.It uncovers that n-C_(3)H_(7)CHO can only reduce Np(Ⅵ) to Np(Ⅴ) owing to kinetically controlled selective reduction.The analyses of spin density and bond distance indicate that the reduction nature for the first Np(Ⅵ)/Pu(Ⅳ) belongs to hydrogen atom transfer,whereas that for the second one involves outer-sphere electron transfer.Localized molecular orbitals (LMOs) analysis discloses the bonding evolution during the reduction process of Np(Ⅵ)/Pu(Ⅳ).This study elucidates the reason behind the kinetically controlled selective reduction of Np(Ⅵ)/Pu(Ⅳ) by nC3H7CHO at the molecular level and offers in-depth perspectives on the isolation of specific metal ions from the view of kinetic control.
