Axially Symmetric U-O-Ln- and U-O-U-Containing Molecules from the Control of Uranyl Reduction with Simple f-Block Halides

Abstract

The reduction of U^VI uranyl halides or amides with simple Ln^II or U^III salts forms highly symmetric, linear, oxo-bridged trinuclear U^V /Ln^III /U^V , Ln^III /U^IV /Ln^III , and U^IV /U^IV /U^IV complexes or linear Ln^III /U^V polymers depending on the stoichiometry and solvent. The reactions can be tuned to give the products of one- or two-electron uranyl reduction. The reactivity and magnetism of these compounds are discussed in the context of using a series of strongly oxo-coupled homo- and heterometallic poly(f-block) chains to better understand fundamental electronic structure in the f-block.

Keywords: f-block chemistry; lanthanides; molecular magnetism; reduction; uranyl complexes.