Synthesis, structure, and photocatalytic properties of a two-dimensional uranyl organic framework

A two-dimensional uranyl organic framework (UOF) UO2(L)(DMA) (1) (H2L = 2-aminoisophthalic acid, DMA = N, N-dimethylacetamide) has been solvothermally synthesized and characterized thoroughly by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, solid fluorescence, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and UV–visible spectroscopy. Furthermore, the degradation effciencies of UOF 1 to organic dye methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) are 93.2 and 86.5% under irradiation of visible light which indicates that UOF 1 has remarkable photocatalytic activity. UOF 1 also displayed a certain selectivity for mixed dyes of MB & RhB.

Tunable photoluminescence in flexible carboxylate ligand-based coordination polymers with interesting topologies and Fe3+ sensitivity

Complexes 1–5, showing different interesting topological networks from 1D ladder to 3D frameworks, exhibit selective and sensitive fluorescence quenching of Fe³⁺ ion.

Hydrothermal synthesis of two 2D uranyl coordination polymers: structure, luminescence, and photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

Two hydrothermal synthesized uranyl-organic coordination polymers showing effective photocatalytic activities for RhB degradation with quick equilibrium time in water.

Multi-colour uranyl emission efficiently tuned by hexacyanidometallates within hybrid coordination frameworks

Hexacyanidometallates of transition metal ions govern the topology and the photoluminescence of bimetallic d–f hybrid coordination networks incorporating uranyl cations.

Binding of oxime group to uranyl ion

Currently, the leading approach for extraction of uranium from seawater is selective sorption of UO2(2+) ions onto a poly(acrylamidoxime) fiber. Amidoxime functional groups are the most studied extractant moieties for this application, but are not perfectly selective, and understanding how these groups (and more generally the oxime groups) interact with UO2(2+) and competing ions in seawater is an important step in designing better extractants. We have started a new research programme aiming at in-depth studies of the uranyl-oxime/amidoxime interactions and we report here our first results which cover aspects of the coordination chemistry of 2-pyridyl ketoximes towards UO2(2+). Detailed synthetic investigations of various UO2(2+)/mepaoH and UO2(2+)/phpaoH reaction systems (mepaoH is methyl 2-pyridyl ketoxime and phpaoH is phenyl 2-pyridyl ketoxime) have provided access to the complexes [UO2(mepao)2(MeOH)2]{[UO2(NO3)(mepao)(MeOH)2]}2 (), [UO2(mepao)2(MeOH)2] (), [(UO2)2(O2)(O2CMe)2(mepaoH)2] () and [UO2(phpao)2(MeOH)2] (). The peroxido group in , which was isolated without the addition of external peroxide sources, probably arises from a bis(aquo)- and/or bis(hydroxido)-bridged diuranyl precursor in solution followed by photochemical oxidation of the bridging groups. The U(VI) atom in the [UO2(NO3)(mepao)(MeOH)2] molecules of () is surrounded by one nitrogen and seven oxygen atoms in a very distorted hexagonal bipyramidal geometry; two oxygen atoms from the terminal MeOH ligands, two oxygen atoms from the bidentate chelating nitrato group, and the oxygen and nitrogen atoms from the η(2) oximate group of the 1.110 (Harris notation) mepao(-) ligand define the equatorial plane. This plane consists of two terminal MeOH ligands and two η(2) oximate groups in the [UO2(mepao)2(MeOH)2] molecule () of . The structure of the [UO2(mepao)2(MeOH)2] molecule that is present in is very similar to the structure of the corresponding molecule in . The structure of the dinuclear molecule that is present in consists of two {UO2(O2CMe)(mepaoH)}(+) units bridged by a η(2):η(2):μ O2(2-) group. The equatorial plane of each uranyl site is composed of the pyridyl and oxime nitrogen atoms of a 1.011 mepaoH ligand, the oxygen atoms of an almost symmetrically coordinated bidentate chelating MeCO2(-) group and the two oxygen atoms of the peroxido groups. The core molecular structure of is similar to that of , the only difference being the presence of 1.110 phpao(-) ligands in the former instead of mepao(-) groups in the latter. The free pyridyl nitrogen atoms of mepao(-) and phpao(-) ligands of , and are acceptors of intramolecular H bonds from the ligated MeOH oxygen atoms. H-bonding and π-π stacking interactions build interesting supramolecular networks in the crystal structures of the four complexes. Compounds are the first structurally characterized uranyl complexes with 2-pyridyl aldoximes or ketoximes as ligands. IR data are discussed in terms of the coordination modes of the ligands in the complexes. (1)H NMR data in DMSO-d6 suggest that the complexes decompose in solution. The ESI(-) MS spectrum of dissolved in the NH4(O2CMe) buffer is indicative of the presence of [UO2(O2CMe)3](-), [UO2(O2CMe)2(phpao)](-), [UO2(O2CMe)(phpao)2](-) and [UO2(phpao)3](-) species. A common structural motif of the complexes containing the anionic mepao(-) (, ) and phpao(-) () ligands is that the deprotonated oximate group prefers to bind in the η(2) fashion forming a 3-membered chelating ring in spite of the presence of a pyridyl nitrogen atom, whose coordination would be expected to lead to 5- or 6-membered chelating rings.

Six uranyl-organic frameworks with naphthalene-dicarboxylic acid and bipyridyl-based spacers: syntheses, structures, and properties

Six new uranyl complexes that exhibit promising photocatalytic activities for the degradation of TC under UV light based on 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid and nitrogen-based ligands were synthesized.

Dynamics of Humic Acid and Its Interaction with Uranyl in the Presence of Hydrophobic Surface Implicated by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

This work targeted a molecular level of understanding on the dynamics of humic acid (HA) and its interaction with uranyl in the presence of hydrophobic surface mimicked by a carbon nanotube (CNT), which also represents a potential intruder in the environment accompanying with the development of nanotechnology. In aqueous phase, uranyl and HA were observed to build close contact spontaneously, driven by electrostatic interaction, leading to a more compact conformation of HA. The presence of CNT unfolds HA via π-π interactions with the aromatic rings of HA without significant perturbation on the interaction strength between HA and uranyl. These results show that the hydrophilic uranyl and the hydrophobic CNT influence the folding behavior of HA in distinct manners, which represents two fundamental mechanisms that the folding behavior of HA may be modulated in the environment, that is, uranyl enhances the folding of HA via electrostatic interactions, whereas CNT impedes its spontaneous folding via van der Waals (vdW) interactions. The work also provides molecular level of evidence on the transformation of a hydrophobic surface into a hydrophilic one via noncovalent functionalization by HA, which in turn affects the migration of HA and the cations it binds to.

A family of uranium–carboxylic acid hybrid materials: synthesis, structure and mixed-dye selective adsorption

The synthesis, structure, photoluminescence, surface photovoltage and mixed-dye selective adsorption of four uranyl complexes have been studied.

A family of uranyl-aromatic dicarboxylate (pht-, ipa-, tpa-) framework hybrid materials: photoluminescence, surface photovoltage and dye adsorption

The synthesis, structure, photoluminescence, surface photovoltage and dye adsorption have been studied.