Ligand architectural effect on coordination, bonding, interaction, and selectivity of Am( iii ) and Ln( iii ) ions with bitopic ligands: synthesis, solvent extraction, and DFT studies

. The covalent nature of bonding between the metal ions and the ligand was confirmed by analyzing the Mayer bond order and bond character analysis using the atom in molecule concept. Though the conformational rigidity of PIPDA gives stronger interaction than DADA, it does not offer a significant advantage over DADA in terms of the separation factor. The marginal increase in the separation factor for PIPDA over DADA might be attributed to the piperazine nitrogen and to the ligand architecture during complex formation.