Tailored alendronate-based copolymers for efficient complexation of neodymium, surrogate of actinide
Abstract
Bisphosphonate-functionalized copolymers were prepared through a two-step synthetic procedure to develop materials with enhanced metal coordination capabilities. Initially, poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (P(OEGMA-co-MAA)) copolymers were synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. By varying the molecular weight (20000 or 60000 g.mol−1) and OEGMA/MAA molar ratio, a range of copolymers was obtained with controlled molecular characteristics. Optimal RAFT conditions, using a [AIBN]/[CTA] molar ratio of 0.5/1, enabled high monomer conversion rates while maintaining narrow dispersity. The random incorporation of monomers was confirmed by kinetic studies and the determination of reactivity ratio. In the second step, bisphosphonate functionalities were introduced by achieving EDC/NHS coupling reaction in the presence of alendronate sodium to afford P(OEGMA-co-MAA-co-AleMAAm) copolymers. The successful functionalization was confirmed by 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. Finally, complexation properties toward neodymium (III) cations, surrogates of actinides, were determined as a function of OEGMA/MAA molar ratio, alendronate functionalization rate, and copolymer molecular weight. Best neodymium (III) sorption dealt with the complexation of 47.3 mg of Nd(III) ions per gram of P(OEGMA25-co-MAA65-co-AleMAAm10)60k copolymer. This result is of great interest, as it shows that optimized synthesized materials are more efficient than most of the materials reported to date in the literature for the complexation of Nd(III) cations, thus opening the way to their use for application in actinide decontamination.
Related
- Highly Aggregated Structures in Aqueous Solutions from Statistical Copolymers of N-Vinylpyrrolidone and 2-Chloroethyl Vinyl Ether for Efficient Hydrophobic Entrapment
- Dynamics and Structure of Molten Neodymium Titanate
- Development of alendronate-loaded 3D-printed PCL/LDH scaffolds for controlled drug delivery in bone tissue engineering.
- Solvent Isotope Effect on the Thermodynamics of Complexation with Cyclodextrins and Cucurbiturils: An ITC Study in H2O and D2O
- Artificial humic acids as model systems for resolving key structural controls on humic acid-metal complexation
BibTeX
@article{guerreiro2026tailored,
title = {{Tailored alendronate-based copolymers for efficient complexation of neodymium, surrogate of actinide}},
author = {Mickael Guerreiro and Vincent Darcos and Sophie Monge},
journal = {Separation and Purification Technology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135082},
url = {https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05295648v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Tailored alendronate-based copolymers for efficient complexation of neodymium, surrogate of actinide
AU - Mickael Guerreiro
AU - Vincent Darcos
AU - Sophie Monge
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Separation and Purification Technology
DO - 10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135082
UR - https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05295648v1
AB - Bisphosphonate-functionalized copolymers were prepared through a two-step synthetic procedure to develop materials with enhanced metal coordination capabilities. Initially, poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (P(OEGMA-co-MAA)) copolymers were synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. By varying the molecular weight (20000 or 60000 g.mol−1) and OEGMA/MAA molar ratio, a range of copolymers was obtained with controlled molecular characteristics. Optimal RAFT conditions, using a [AIBN]/[CTA] molar ratio of 0.5/1, enabled high monomer conversion rates while maintaining narrow dispersity. The random incorporation of monomers was confirmed by kinetic studies and the determination of reactivity ratio. In the second step, bisphosphonate functionalities were introduced by achieving EDC/NHS coupling reaction in the presence of alendronate sodium to afford P(OEGMA-co-MAA-co-AleMAAm) copolymers. The successful functionalization was confirmed by 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. Finally, complexation properties toward neodymium (III) cations, surrogates of actinides, were determined as a function of OEGMA/MAA molar ratio, alendronate functionalization rate, and copolymer molecular weight. Best neodymium (III) sorption dealt with the complexation of 47.3 mg of Nd(III) ions per gram of P(OEGMA25-co-MAA65-co-AleMAAm10)60k copolymer. This result is of great interest, as it shows that optimized synthesized materials are more efficient than most of the materials reported to date in the literature for the complexation of Nd(III) cations, thus opening the way to their use for application in actinide decontamination.
SN - 1383-5866
ER -