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Title: Cleaving Off Uranyl Oxygens through Chelation: A Mechanistic Study in the Gas Phase

Journal Article · · Inorganic Chemistry

Recent efforts to activate the strong uranium-oxygen bonds in the dioxo uranyl cation have been limited to single oxo-group activation through either uranyl reduction and functionalization in solution, or by collision induced dissociation (CID) in the gas-phase, using mass spectrometry (MS). Here, we report and investigate the surprising double activation of uranyl by an organic ligand, 3,4,3-LI(CAM), leading to the formation of a formal U6+ chelate in the gas-phase. The cleavage of both uranyl oxo bonds was experimentally evidence d by CID, using deuterium and 18O isotopic substitutions, and by infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy. Density functional theory (DFT) computations predict that the overall reaction requires only 132 kJ/mol, with the first oxygen activation entailing about 107 kJ/mol. Here, combined with analysis of similar, but unreactive ligands, these results shed light on the chelation-driven mechanism of uranyl oxo bond cleavage, demonstrating its dependence on the presence of ligand hydroxyl protons available for direct interactions with the uranyl oxygens.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1436648
Journal Information:
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 56, Issue 21; ISSN 0020-1669
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 18 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Ligand‐Supported Facile Conversion of Uranyl(VI) into Uranium(IV) in Organic and Aqueous Media journal February 2020
A solution- and gas-phase study of uranyl hydroxamato complexes journal August 2018
Ligand‐Supported Facile Conversion of Uranyl(VI) into Uranium(IV) in Organic and Aqueous Media journal April 2020

Figures / Tables (5)


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