基于配位计量差异的Am(Ⅲ)/Eu(Ⅲ)配体人工智能设计

    AI-Driven Design of Ligands for Am(Ⅲ)/Eu(Ⅲ) Based on Coordination Stoichiometry Differences

    • 摘要: 先进核燃料循环中分离与嬗变策略的实施依赖于次锕系元素与镧系元素的高选择性分离,而溶剂萃取是实现该目标的关键技术手段。萃取的分离性能不仅受热力学选择性的控制,还与萃取过程的可控性密切相关,而后者在很大程度上取决于萃合物的配位计量特征。在萃取过程常用的斜率分析假设下,金属离子的分配比随萃取剂浓度变化,其指数项对应于有机相中主要萃合物所包含的萃取剂分子数。因此,对于给定萃取剂而言,代表性物种Am(Ⅲ)与Eu(Ⅲ)之间的配位计量差(Δn)可作为一个具有明确物理意义的描述符,用以表征分离因子随萃取剂浓度放大的行为。采用|Δn|作为差异化配位行为指标来表征二元Am/Eu分离体系中的工艺可控性。基于上述认识,构建了一种集成式的人工智能(AI)驱动分子设计框架,将性能评估、分子生成与目标导向优化相结合,用于面向Am(Ⅲ)与Eu(Ⅲ)分离的萃取剂设计与筛选。该框架耦合了三类AI模型:(1)多模态图神经网络(GNN),用于预测金属-配体-溶剂体系的配位计量;(2)变分自编码器(VAE),将离散分子结构编码至连续的潜在化学空间以及解码生成具有结构多样性的有化学意义的分子SMILES表示;(3)基于actor-critic架构的强化学习(RL)策略,在VAE潜在空间中进行优化,并以GNN预测的|Δn|作为奖励信号。为保证分子的化学合理性,奖励函数中引入了基于RDKit的化学有效性约束以及基于Tanimoto系数的结构相似性控制,从而维持优化过程的有效性和稳定性。针对实验数据有限的问题,采用迁移学习策略:GNN与VAE首先在来源于剑桥结构数据库(CSD)的分子与配位化合物结构数据上进行预训练,随后利用文献报道的Am(Ⅲ)/Eu(Ⅲ)溶剂萃取数据进行微调;同时,通过将仅金属种类不同但萃取剂-溶剂体系相同的样本进行分组,实施了有效的数据泄漏控制。结果表明,该框架能够快速评估Am/Eu体系的配位计量差,并引导分子生成向具有更大|Δn|的化学空间区域聚集。对RL生成分子的分析还显示,富含杂原子的配位环境以及刚性芳香骨架在高|Δn|候选分子中具有明显富集趋势,这与文献已报道的锕/镧选择性萃取剂的经验设计原则高度一致。总体而言,本研究为选择性萃取剂发现提供了一种可解释、系统化的AI方法,并为先进核燃料循环相关的放射化学分离问题提供了理论与方法补充。

       

      Abstract: The implementation of partitioning and transmutation(P&T) strategies in advanced nuclear fuel cycles requires selective separation of minor actinides from lanthanides, for which solvent extraction is a key approach. The separation performance is governed not only by thermodynamic selectivity but also by the extraction process controllability, which is strongly affected by the coordination stoichiometry of the extracted complexes. Under common slope-analysis assumptions, the distribution ratio of a metal ion depends on extractant concentration with an exponent corresponding to the number of extractant molecules in the predominant extracted complex. Accordingly, the coordination stoichiometry difference(Δn) between Am(Ⅲ) and Eu(Ⅲ) for a given extractant provides a physically meaningful descriptor that determines how separation factors amplify with extractant concentration. In this work, |Δn| is used as a sign-invariant indicator of differentiated coordinative behavior and thus of controllability in binary Am/Eu separation. Here we develop an integrated AI-driven molecular design framework that combines property evaluation, molecular generation, and goal-directed optimization to enable de novo discovery of extractants targeting Am(Ⅲ)/Eu(Ⅲ) separation. The framework couples (1) a multimodal graph neural network(GNN) that predicts coordination stoichiometry for metal-ligand-solvent systems, (2) a variational autoencoder(VAE) that encodes discrete molecular structures into a continuous latent chemical space and decodes them into chemically valid and diverse SMILES representations, and (3) an actor-critic reinforcement learning(RL) strategy that performs optimization in the VAE latent space using rewards derived from GNN-predicted |Δn|. To ensure chemically realistic exploration, the reward function incorporates validity constraints implemented with RDKit and structural similarity control based on the Tanimoto coefficient, thereby balancing exploration and exploitation while maintaining optimization stability. Transfer learning is employed to address data scarcity: both the GNN and VAE are pretrained on molecular and coordination-complex structural data derived from the Cambridge Structural Database and subsequently fine-tuned using literature-derived Am(Ⅲ)/Eu(Ⅲ) solvent extraction data. A leakage-control splitting strategy is adopted by grouping samples that share the same extractant-solvent system but differ only in metal identity. The resulting framework enables rapid assessment of Am/Eu coordination stoichiometry differences and directs molecular generation toward regions of chemical space associated with larger |Δn|. Analysis of RL-generated molecules indicates that heteroatom-rich coordination environments and rigid aromatic scaffolds are preferentially enriched among candidates with higher predicted |Δn|, consistent with empirical design principles for An/Ln selectivity. Overall, this study provides an interpretable and systematic AI-based route for selectivity-driven extractant discovery and offers a practical complement to experimental and theoretical approaches for radiochemical separations relevant to advanced nuclear fuel cycles.

       

    /

    返回文章
    返回