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Title: Organoactinide chemistry: synthesis, structure, and solution dynamics

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:7042820

The trivalent uranium coordination complexes (RC/sub 5/H/sub 4/)/sub 3/U-L (R = H, Me, SiMe/sub 3/) have been prepared to study the relative basicity of donor ligands toward low-valent uranium. It is found that the relative order of increasing basicity is PMe/sub 3/ > P(OR)/sub 3/ greater than or equal to py > SR/sub 2/ approx. = OR/sub 2/ NR/sub 3/. The series is found to be measurably sensitive to the steric and electronic properties of the metal coordination sphere as well as electronic perturbations of the donor ligand. A combination of data from solution measurements, crystallographic analysis, and gas phase PES, leads to the conclusion that trivalent uranium engages in a considerable degree of M ..-->.. L ..pi..-backbonding toward ligands such as CO, CNR, PR/sub 3/, and P(OR)/sub 3/. Electronic saturation of the metal enhances this interaction. The trivalent uranium complexes CP/sub 3/ U-L reduce PhNCO, CS/sub 2/, SCO, and YPR/sub 3/ (Y = S, Se, Te) to form the (IV) complexes (Cp/sub 3/U)/sub 2/(X) (X = Y, CS/sub 2/, PhNCO). The reaction between Cp/sub 3/U and C/sub 8/H/sub 8/ or O/sub 2/ results in isolation of ligand redistribution products: in the C/sub 8/H/sub 8/ reaction, (C/sub 8/H/sub 8/)U(Me/sub 3/SiC/sub 5/H/sub 4/)/sub 2/ has been isolated, while in the O/sub 2/ reaction, (Me/sub 3/SiC/sub 5/H/sub 4/)/sub 4/U has been isolated and structurally characterized; all Cp rings are eta/sup 5/-coordinated to the metal. In the presence of organic azides, trivalent uranium acts as a two electron reducing agent to form U(V) imides X/sub 3/U = NR (X = Cp, (Me/sub 3/Si)/sub 2/N). The ..mu..-imido dimers (Cp/sub 3/U = NR)/sub 2/ (R = Ph, SiMe/sub 3/) have been isolated from the reaction of Cp/sub 3/UNR and Cp/sub 3/U. The Ph compound contains an asymmetric bridge with single and double U-N bonds, while the SiMe/sub 3/ complex is symmetrically bridged.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Berkeley (USA)
OSTI ID:
7042820
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English