2026-08-10 シカゴ大学（UChicago）
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.uchicago.edu/story/researchers-discover-cleaner-route-purifying-rare-earth-elements
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-026-00418-8
希土類元素分離のためのオングストロームサイズの固体イオンチャネルの固定 Pinning ångström-size solid ionic channels for rare-earth element separation
Siqi Zou,Jiadong Liu,Woo Cheol Jeon,Maoyu Wang,Ronghui Wu,Yu Han,Gangbin Yan,Grant T. Hill,Xiaolin Yue,Hua Zhou,George C. Schatz & Chong Liu
Nature Chemical Engineering Published:21 July 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-026-00418-8
Abstract
High-purity rare-earth elements are essential for modern technologies, yet current solvent extraction processes are energy-intensive and environmentally harmful because of inadequate selectivity and ligand toxicity. Although combining size exclusion and binding affinity can improve lanthanide separation, the role of long-range confinement remains underexplored. Here we report lanthanide separation in aqueous systems using extremely confined manganese oxide solid ionic channels with optimized layer spacing. Different lanthanides induce distinct solid-state phase transformations in manganese oxide, creating a strong driving force for separation. Two lanthanide groups, differing by ~1.4 Å in spacing, were identified and confirmed to be stable by density functional theory. The narrower confinement of heavier Group II lanthanides improves cross-group separation by increasing the dehydration barrier for lighter Group I lanthanides without inducing strong binding. We further developed a strategy to pin the confinement dimensions and enhance same-group separation, increasing enrichment factors for La–Nd and La–Pr pairs from 1.6 ± 0.1 and 1.5 ± 0.1 to 5.4 ± 0.1 and 4.2 ± 0.1, respectively.
