Facile Access to Uranium and Thorium Phosphaethynolate Complexes Supported by Tren: Experimental and Theoretical Study
Jipan Yu, Kang Liu, Qun‐Yan Wu, Bin Li, Xiang‐he Kong, Kong‐Qiu Hu, Lei Mei, Li‐Yong Yuan, Zhifang Chai, Wei‐Qun Shi
Abstract
Main observation and conclusion The issue of covalence of actinide complexes remains controversial to date. The introduction of 2‐phosphaethynolate anion into actinide complexes is expected to investigate the reaction mode and the bonding property. Herein, we describe the functionalization of An(Tren TIPS )Cl (1: An = U; 2: An = Th) precursors with NaOCP(dioxane) 2.5 through salt‐elimination method leading to the formation of the corresponding uranium and thorium phosphaethynolate species: [U(Tren TIPS )(OCP)] (3) and [Th(Tren TIPS )(OCP)] (4). These two complexes were fully characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), FT‐IR spectrum, UV‐vis‐NIR spectroscopies as well as X‐ray crystal diffraction. Computational analyses of the two complexes reveal that the U—O bond has a more covalent bond property than the Th—O bond due to more 5f orbital contribution for U.