Interfacial Nanochemistry in Liquid-Liquid Extraction Systems

Recent development of the interfacial nanochemistry in the solvent extraction systems is reviewed, as well as the development of measurement methods for interfacial reactions. The studies on specific reactions at the interface of various metal extraction systems have elucidated essential modes of the interfacial reactions, including the interfacial adsorption, the interfacial complexation, and the interfacial aggregation. The catalytic role of the liquid-liquid interface in the solvent extraction kinetics and the molecular recognition ability of the self-assembled metal complexes at the interface were emphasized. Spectroscopic studies on the rotational and translational dynamics of fluorescent molecules, a single molecule in some cases, at the interface are also discussed. The utility of the molecular dynamics simulations is demonstrated in the discussions of the solvent structure in the interfacial region and of the stability of surface active molecules at the interface.