The synthesis and extraction of americium(III) and europium(III) from aqueous nitric acid solutions by the new BTBP ligands 6,6'-bis (5,5,7,7-tetramethyl-5,7-dihydrofuro[3,4-e]-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine (Cy 5 -O-Me 4 -BTBP) and 6,6'-bis (5,5,7,7-tetramethyl-5,7-dihydrothieno[3,4-e]-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine (Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP) is described. The affinity for Am(III) and the selectivity for Am(III) over Eu(III) of Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP were generally higher than for Cy 5 -O-Me 4 -BTBP. For both ligands, the extraction of Am(III) and Eu(III) from 3 M HNO 3 into 3 mM organic solutions varied with the diluent used. The highest distribution ratios and separation factors observed were in cyclohexanone and 2-methylcyclohexanone, respectively. For Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP, there is a strong correlation between the distribution ratio for Am(III) and the permittivity of the diluent used. With 1-octanol as the diluent, low distribution ratios (D(Am) < 1) were observed for Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP although this ligand extracts Am(III) selectively (SF Am/Eu = 16-46 from 1-4 M HNO 3 ). For Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP, Am(III) is extracted as the disolvate. The distribution ratios for Am(III), and the separation factors for Am(III) over Eu(III) are both significantly higher for CyMe 4 -BTBP than they are for Cy 5 -O-Me 4 -BTBP and Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP in cyclohexanone. Changing the diluent from cyclohexanone to 2-methylcyclohexanone leads to a decrease in D(Am) but an increase in SF Am/Eu for Cy 5 -S-Me 4 -BTBP.