Exchange of an imido ligand in bis(imido) complexes of uranium

Trevor W Hayton; James M Boncella; Brian L Scott; Enrique R Batista

doi:10.1021/ja064400j

Exchange of an imido ligand in bis(imido) complexes of uranium

J Am Chem Soc. 2006 Oct 4;128(39):12622-3. doi: 10.1021/ja064400j.

Authors

Trevor W Hayton¹, James M Boncella, Brian L Scott, Enrique R Batista

Affiliation

¹ Materials Physics and Applications Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS J514, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.

PMID: 17002336
DOI: 10.1021/ja064400j

Abstract

Addition of B(C6H5)3.H2O to U(NtBu)2I2(THF)2 provides U(NtBu)(O)I2(THF)2, a complex with a trans arrangement of the oxo and imido ligands. A DFT study on the Ph3PO adduct, U(NtBu)(O)I2(Ph3PO)2, reveals that there are six bonding orbitals in the O=U=N interaction, much like the bis(imido) N=U=N interaction. However, the calculations suggest that the multiple bonding in the oxo imido complexes is less covalent than that in the bis(imido) analogues.