Patent ID: 7704468

Claim:
A method of forming an extraction agent for separation of actinides from lanthanides, comprising: reacting a first reagent with a second reagent to produce (X) 2 —R1-phosphine, the first reagent having a formula P—(X) 3 wherein X is a halogen, and the second reagent having a formula R1-(M1)X, wherein R1 is organic, M1 is a metal selected from the group consisting of magnesium, lithium, sodium, aluminum, zinc, cadmium, mercury, copper, lead, thallium, tin and combinations thereof, and X is a halogen; reacting the (X) 2 —R1-phosphine with a third reagent having a formula R2-(M1)X, wherein R2 is organic and X is a halogen, to produce R2—R1—X-phosphine; reacting the R2—R1—X-phosphine with a metal hydride reagent having a formula (H)-M2, wherein M2 is a metal selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, boron, aluminum, and combinations thereof, to produce R2—R1—H-phosphine; and reacting a source of sulfur with the R2—R1—H-phosphine to produce R2—R1-dithiophosphinic acid.