title: The Lanthanide Contraction beyond Coordination Chemistry.
abstract: The lanthanide contraction is conceptualized traditionally through coordination chemistry. Here we break this mold in a structural study of lanthanide ions dissolved in an amphiphilic liquid. The lanthanide contraction perturbs the weak interactions between molecular aggregates that drive mesoscale assembly and emergent behavior. The weak interactions correlate with lanthanide ion transport properties, suggesting new strategies for rare-earth separation that exploit forces outside of the coordination sphere.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Geoffroy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferru
authors.affiliation: X-ray Science Division, APS, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reinhart
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Mrinal K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bera
authors.affiliation: Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olvera de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, 60439, USA. qiaobf@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Baofu
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8870-5985
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831, USA. ellisrj1@ornl.gov.
authors.forename: Ross J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ellis
keywords: atomistic simulation; coordination; lanthanide contraction; mesoscale interactions; small-angle X-ray scattering