Recovery and DFT investigation of Zr(IV) from U–Zr aqueous solutions by bisdiglycolamide ligand

The selective separation of Zr(IV) from a simulated waste solution containing U(VI) and Zr(IV) was investigated using the extraction method with N,N,N′′′′,N′′′′-tetraoctyl-N′′′,N′′′-(N′′,N′′-diethyl)-ethidene bisdiglycolamide (TOEE-BisDGA) dissolved in n-octanol. TOEE-BisDGA demonstrated outstanding kinetic performance, achieving quantitative (> 99