In this study, pyridine and phenanthroline diphosphonate ligands were investigated for the first time from the context of solvent extraction and potentiometric sensing of Co(ii), Ni(ii), Cu(ii), Zn(ii), Cd(ii), and Pb(ii) cations. The extraction efficiency under the same conditions for phenanthroline-diphosphonates is considerably higher than that for pyridine ligands. At the same time, the pyridine-diphosphonates show pronounced selectivity towards lead in this metal series. The extraction systems with phenanthroline diphosphonates provided the most efficient extraction of Cd(ii) and Pb(ii) cations (D > 90). The newly developed pyridine and phenanthroline diphosphonate ligands have proven to be highly effective components in plasticized polymeric membranes. These ligands can be utilized to construct potentiometric ion sensors that exhibit a notable response specifically towards Pb(ii) cations. Among the previously reported tetradentate ligands, the phenanthroline diphosphonate ligand, when incorporated into plasticized polymeric membranes, demonstrated the highest sensitivity towards d-metals and Pb(ii). The structure of the single crystal complex of Pb(ii) and Cd(ii) with pyridine-diphosphonates was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The geometry of Cu(ii), Zn(ii), Cd(ii) and Pb(ii) complexes and the energy effect of the complex formation, including pseudo-oligomerization reactions, were determined by DFT calculations. The high sensing and extraction efficiency of diphosphonates with respect to Pb(ii) is consistent with the minimum values of complex formation energies. The variation in sensory and extraction properties observed among the studied diphosphonate ligands is influenced by the ability to form polynuclear complexes with Pb(ii) cations, whereas such properties are absent in the case of Cd(ii) cations. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.