A charged diatomic triple-bonded U≡N species trapped in C82 fullerene cages
Qingyu Meng, Laura Abella, Yang‐Rong Yao, Dumitru‐Claudiu Sergentu, Wei Yang, Xinye Liu, Jiaxin Zhuang, Luís Echegoyen, Jochen Autschbach, Ning Chen
Abstract
Abstract Actinide diatomic molecules are ideal models to study elusive actinide multiple bonds, but most of these diatomic molecules have so far only been studied in solid inert gas matrices. Herein, we report a charged U≡N diatomic species captured in fullerene cages and stabilized by the U-fullerene coordination interaction. Two diatomic clusterfullerenes, viz. UN@ C s (6)-C 82 and UN@ C 2 (5)-C 82 , were successfully synthesized and characterized. Crystallographic analysis reveals U-N bond lengths of 1.760(7) and 1.760(20) Å in UN@ C s (6)-C 82 and UN@ C 2 (5)-C 82 . Moreover, U≡N was found to be immobilized and coordinated to the fullerene cages at 100 K but it rotates inside the cage at 273 K. Quantum-chemical calculations show a (UN) 2+ @(C 82 ) 2− electronic structure with formal +5 oxidation state (f 1 ) of U and unambiguously demonstrate the presence of a U≡N bond in the clusterfullerenes. This study constitutes an approach to stabilize fundamentally important actinide multiply bonded species.