The stability constants
(log β) of 1:1 uranyl complexes with three N,O-mixed donor ligands
(L = 2,2′-dipyridyl-6,6′-dicarboxylate, 3,3′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxylate,
and 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylate, denoted as BiPDA, DmBiPDA,
and PhenDA, respectively) in aqueous and DMSO/20%(v)H2O solutions were determined by spectrophotometry in 0.1 M
tetraethylammonium perchlorate. The effects of ligand preorganization,
steric hindrance, and solvation on the binding strength of U(VI) with
the three ligands were discussed. In aqueous solution, PhenDA forms
stronger complexes with U(VI) than BiPDA due to its well-preorganized
structure. In DMSO/20%(v)H2O solution, in contrast,
the strong solvation effect of DMSO on the ligands reduces the energy
gap between the trans- and cis-conformations
of BiPDA, resulting in log β(UO2(BiPDA)) >
log β(UO2(PhenDA)). The steric hindrance of
methyl groups on DmBiPDA makes the complex UO2(DmBiPDA)
of the lowest stability in both aqueous and DMSO/20%(v)H2O solutions. Single-crystal structural data of U(VI) complexes
with the three ligands indicate that the ligand coordinates with UO2
2+ via aromatic nitrogen atoms and carboxylate
oxygen atoms. There is no clear correlation between the trend of the
stability constants in solutions and the U–N/O bond lengths
of the three crystal complexes. Nevertheless, DmBiPDA coordinates
to UO2
2+ in a high-strain fashion as a result
of the steric hindrance of methyl groups while BiPDA in a low-strain
fashion, which is in accordance with the relative complexation strength
of the two respective complexes. The results from this work help us
understand the effect of ligand preorganization and solvation on the
binding strength of actinides with multidentate N,O-mixed ligands
in solid and solutions, which is of importance in designing ligands
for the partitioning of actinides from nuclear wastes.