Uranyl Peroxide Capsule Self-assembly in Slow Motion Ana Arteaga,1 Lei Zhang,2 Sarah Hickam,2 Mateusz Dembowski,2,3 Peter C. Burns 2 and May Nyman1*
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Univ. of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences
Abstract Uranyl‐peroxide capsules are the newest family of polyoxometalates. Although discovered 13 years previously with over 70 topologies reported, there is a lack in the fundamental understanding of assembly mechanisms, particularly the role of the alkali counterions. Herein, the reaction pathway and assembly of uranyl peroxide capsules is reported by tracking the conversion from K + uranyl triperoxide monomer to the K + uranyl‐peroxide U 28 capsule by means of small‐angle X‐ray scattering and Raman spectroscopy. For the first time, the K + uranyl‐peroxide pentamer face is isolated and structurally characterized, giving credence to the long‐held belief that these geometric faces serve as building blocks to the fully formed capsules. Once isolated and re‐dissolved, the pentamer face undergoes rapid conversion to capsule forms, underlining its high reactivity that challenges its isolation. Calorimetric measurements of the studied species confirms the pentamer lies on the energy landscape between the monomer and capsule.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Materials Science of Actinides (MSA); University of Notre Dame, IN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0003763
- OSTI ID:
- 1502931
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1503928
- Journal Information:
- Chemistry - A European Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 24; ISSN 0947-6539
- Publisher:
- ChemPubSoc EuropeCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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