The first hydrophilic, 1,10-phenanthroline derived ligands consisting of only C, H, O and N atoms for the selective extraction of Am(III) from spent nuclear fuel are reported herein. One of these 2,9-bis-triazolyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BTrzPhen) ligands combined with a non-selective extracting agent, was found to exhibit process-suitable selectivity for Am(III) over Eu(III) and Cm(III), providing a clear step forward.

•Characterisation of tin speciation in zirconium alloy metal and oxide films using Sn L3-XANES.•Chemical environment of tin in Zircaloy-4 and ZIRLO™ oxide films shown to be similar.•Tin in the oxide films is present in both the di- and tetravalent states and oxidises progressively with oxide-layer growth.Application of Sn L3-XANES to study the oxidation state of alloying additions of tin (1–1.2 wt%) in <2 μm oxide layers formed on nuclear grade zirconium alloy has been demonstrated. Data obtained for metallic and corroded ZIRLO™ (1 wt% Sn) and Zircaloy-4 (1.2 wt% Sn) indicate tin has a similar chemical speciation in both metal alloys but this differs in the oxidised surface layers. By recording XANES at various incident angles to vary the photon penetration depth and amount of the oxide layer probed in the measurement, the authors found evidence that the oxidation of tin progresses with increasing oxide thickness.

The first hydrophilic, 1,10-phenanthroline derived ligands consisting of only C, H, O and N atoms for the selective extraction of Am(III) from spent nuclear fuel are reported herein. One of these 2,9-bis-triazolyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BTrzPhen) ligands combined with a non-selective extracting agent, was found to exhibit process-suitable selectivity for Am(III) over Eu(III) and Cm(III), providing a clear step forward.