Isolation of a Uranium(III)‐Carbon Multiple Bond Complex
Wei Su, Yanshun Ma, Libo Xiang, Junyi Wang, Shuao Wang, Lili Zhao, Gernot Frenking, Qing Ye
Abstract
Abstract Low‐valent uranium‐element multiple bond complexes remain scarce, though there is burgeoning interest regarding to their bonding and reactivity. Herein, isolation of a uranium(III)‐carbon double bond complex [(Cp*) 2 U(CDP)](BPh 4 ) ( 1 ) comprising a tridentate carbodiphosphorane (CDP) was reported for the first time. Oxidation of 1 afforded the corresponding U(IV) complex [(Cp*) 2 U(CDP)](BPh 4 ) 2 ( 2 ). The distance between U and C in 2 is 2.481 Å, indicating the existence of a typical U=C double bond, which is further confirmed by quantum chemical calculations. Bonding analysis suggested that the CDP also serves as both σ‐ and π‐donor in complex 1 , though a longer U−C bond (2.666(3) Å) is observed. It implies that 1 is the first isolable mononuclear uranium(III) carbene complex. Moreover, these results suggest that CDPs are promising ligands to establish other low‐valent f ‐block metal‐carbon multiple bond complexes.