Modular Synthesis of Diglycolamides for REE Separation

Rare earth elements (REE) are in high demand. They are a family of 17 elements with unique properties and a variety of technological applications. There are new chemical strategies for REE separations emerging. Our overall project is AI-accelerated on-demand molecular synthesis, but it is broken down into three parts. The three parts are AI prediction and design of the ligand, automated synthesis, and separation evaluation. Together they create a cycle in said order. My focus in this project was modular synthesis of diglycolamides. Our starting components were diglycolic acid and dihexylamine which we synthesized to make a salt compound. Our salt would then be dissolved in a solvent of our choosing. We found that using a 2:1 DMSO-dioxane (V/V) solution produced the best results when running through the reactor column. We test temperature, flow, time, column packing, and solvent variables in order to reach a 100% conversion to DGA. Now we are trying to figure out how to get to a 100% conversion consistently and at a lower temperature by using a variety of catalysts.