Dioctyl ether radiolysis under used nuclear fuel reprocessing conditions: Foundational knowledge for the development of sacrificial ligand grafts

Radiation-induced ligand destruction and concomitant degradation product formation is unavoidable under envisioned used nuclear fuel reprocessing conditions, and ultimately limits the recyclability of a given solvent system formulation. With this in mind, a novel approach to ligand innovation for advanced separations processes is in the design of tailored “protomolecules,” which when exposed to ionizing radiation undergo desired chemical transformations, thereby allowing for a reprocessing solvent system to advantageously evolve with absorbed radiation dose. Here we provide foundational knowledge for the time-resolved (electron pulse) and steady-state (cobalt-60 gamma) radiolytic behavior of dioctyl ether, a protomolecule grafting surrogate. Gamma irradiation of single-phase solutions of dioctyl ether (5–100 vol.%) in n-dodecane resulted in the loss of dioctyl ether (G ≤ −0.72 μmol J⁻¹) and the formation of octane (G ≤ 0.11 μmol J⁻¹) and octanol (G ≤ 0.15 μmol J⁻¹) degradation products, the latter of which is a known reprocessing phase modifier and radioprotectant. These radiation-induced changes were attributed to direct radiation effects, for more concentrated dioctyl ether solutions, and indirect radiation effects, predominantly driven by the reaction of dioctyl ether with the dodecane radical cation, for which we report a second-order rate coefficient of k = (1.53 ± 0.05) × 10¹⁰ L mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. Under typical biphasic extraction (4.0 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃) and strip (0.1 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃) reprocessing conditions, gamma irradiation of 5 vol.% dioctyl ether solvent systems afforded negligible change in the rate of parent molecule destruction but promoted significant differences in the radiolytic behavior of its degradation products. These differences are attributed to their respective interactions with [dioctyl ether•HNO₃•H₂O] and [octanol•HNO₃•H₂O] adducts extracted into the organic phase. Overall, these results support the grafting of ether linkages to advanced separations ligands (e.g., modified diglycolamides).