Synthesis of New Bis(3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone) Ligands as Chelating Agents for Uranyl Complexation

Five new bis(3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone) tetradentate chelators were synthesized in this study. The structures of these tetradentate chelators were characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis, and mass spectral analyses. The binding abilities of these tetradentate chelators for uranyl ion at pH 7.4 were also determined by UV spectrophotometry in aqueous media. Results showed that the efficiencies of these chelating agents are dependent on the linker length. Ligand 4b is the best chelator and suitable for further studies