Final Activity Report Summary - METSALT (Metal Salt Complexation for Environmental Clean-up and Hydrometallurgy)
The synthetic skills of the Fellow and his knowledge of the project and related field have improved enormously over the past two years, especially in the field of modification of pyridine and thioether containing molecules. A range of scientific research skills and training relating to the project have been undertaken including chromatography, distillation, multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, UV-Vis spectrometry and X-ray single crystal diffraction.
The multi-property materials prepared above are being studied currently for applications in the binding and extraction of metal salts, and their specific and detailed abilities to extract (aqueous to organic phase) and transport (aqueous to organic to aqueous phase) metal salts selectively are being established. The Nottingham group works very closely with Tasker (University of Edinburgh), Lindoy (University of Sydney, Australia), and Gloe (University of Dresden) on the development of functional nanoreceptors for metal cation and / or anion extraction, and we are currently seeking to functionalise our receptors in order to improve their solubilities in non-polar solvents.