On the highest oxidation states of the actinoids in AnO4 molecules (An = Ac - Cm): A DMRG-CASSCF study

Actinoid tetroxide molecules AnO₄ (An = Ac - Cm) are investigated with the ab initio density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) approach. Natural orbital shapes are used to read out the oxidation state (OS) of the f-elements, and the atomic orbital energies and radii are used to explain the trends. The highest OSs reveal a "volcano"-type variation: For An = Ac - Np, the OSs are equal to the number of available valence electrons, that is, Ac^III , Th^IV , Pa^V , U^VI , and Np^VII . Starting with plutonium as the turning point, the highest OSs in the most stable AnO₄ isomers then decrease as Pu^V , Am^V , and Cm^III , indicating that the 5f-electrons are hard to be fully oxidized off from Pu onward. The variations are related to the actinoid contraction and to the 5f-covalency characteristics. Combined with previous work on OSs, we review their general trends throughout the periodic table, providing fundamental understanding of OS-relevant phenomena.

Relativistic Effects Stabilize the Planar Wheel-like Structure of Actinide-Doped Gold Clusters: An@Au7 (An = Th to Cm)

Despite the chemistry of actinide-ligand bonding is continuing and of burgeoning interest, investigations of the chemical bonding of bimetallic complexes involving transuranics remain relatively less, and there are rarely studies on the bonding features between actinide and coinage metals (CM). We present a systematic research on the series of An@Au₇ (An = Th to Cm), UCM₇ (CM = Cu, Ag, Au), and WAu₇ clusters to investigate the unique geometries, electronic structures, and chemical bonding between An 5f6d orbitals and CM ns orbitals, and to find their periodicity across the actinides and within the group of transition metals. A unique planar wheel-like structure for An@Au₇ clusters with the help of actinide metals encapsulation via spin-orbit coupling, resulting in An(III). Instead, the transition-metal (TM) element W retains its usual six-gold-coordination structure in WAu₇, thus forcing the seventh Au out of plane. The An-CM interactions, depending on the ion radii, become stronger with the increase of the atomic number of the actinide metals, as well as the CM. These results show that the presence of actinides in clusters can lead to unique electronic and geometrical structures.

Molecular oxides of high-valent actinides

The past decade has been very productive in the field of actinide (An) oxides containing high-valent An. Novel gas-phase experimental and an impressive number of theoretical studies have been performed, mostly on pure oxides or oxides extended with other ligands. The review covers the structural properties of molecular An oxides with high (An≥V) oxidation states. The presented compounds include the actinide dioxide cations [AnO2]+ and [AnO2]2+, neutral and ionic AnOx (x = 3–6), oxides with more than one An atom like neutral dimers, trimers and dimers from cation–cation interactions, as well as large U-oxide clusters observed very recently in the gaseous phase.

Theoretical studies on the oxidation states and electronic structures of actinide-borides: AnB12 (An = Th-Cm) clusters

As B12 clusters exhibit significant structural stability due to double aromaticity, metal doped-B12 clusters often prefer a half sandwich structure. Herein, we report a systematic theoretical study on the geometric and electronic structures, and chemical bonding of the half sandwich AnB12 (An = Th to Cm) clusters to explore the stability and extent of covalency of the An-B bonds of these actinide borides. We have shown that in the gas-phase clusters, the significant stability of AnB12 is determined by electrostatic and orbital interactions between the An 5f6d7s orbitals and π-type molecular orbitals from B 2p orbitals of the B12 unit. A change-over of An-B bond length from An = Th to Cm is found at An = Pa as a result of actinide contraction combined with weakening An-B bonding due to an energy decrease and orbital localization of the 5f orbitals. Consistently, the oxidation states of the An atoms at first increase from Th(f0)IV to Pa(f0)V, and then due to the 5f-AO contraction, they smoothly decline to U(f2)IV, Np(f4)III and Pu(f5)III, and then eventually to Am(f7)II but Cm(f7)III, both with a half-filled 5f shell.

On the Highest Oxidation States of Metal Elements in MO4 Molecules (M = Fe, Ru, Os, Hs, Sm, and Pu)

Metal tetraoxygen molecules (MO4, M = Fe, Ru, Os, Hs, Sm, Pu) of all metal atoms M with eight valence electrons are theoretically studied using density functional and correlated wave function approaches. The heavier d-block elements Ru, Os, Hs are confirmed to form stable tetraoxides of Td symmetry in (1)A1 electronic states with empty metal d(0) valence shell and closed-shell O(2-) ligands, while the 3d-, 4f-, and 5f-elements Fe, Sm, and Pu prefer partial occupation of their valence shells and peroxide or superoxide ligands at lower symmetry structures with various spin couplings. The different geometric and electronic structures and chemical bonding types of the six iso-stoichiometric species are explained in terms of atomic orbital energies and orbital radii. The variations found here contribute to our general understanding of the periodic trends of oxidation states across the periodic table.

Is Octavalent Pu(VIII) Possible? Mapping the Plutonium Oxyfluoride Series PuO(n)F(8-2n) (n = 0-4)

While the oxidation state Pu(VIII) is shown to be less stable than Pu(V) in the PuO4 molecule, it is not clear if the more electronegative fluorine can help to stabilize Pu(VIII). Our calculations on PuO(n)F(8-2n) (n = 0-4) molecules notably confirm that PuO2F4 has both (1)D(4h) and (5)C(2v) minima with the oxidation states Pu(VIII) and Pu(V), respectively, with the latter having lower energy. The hybrid-DFT, CCSD(T), and CASSCF methods all give the same result. The results conform to a superoxide ligand when n ≥ 2. PuF8 in a (1)O(h) state can decompose to PuF6 and F2, and PuOF6 in a (1)C(2v) state also can break down to PuF6 and 1/2 O2. The Pu(VIII) anion PuO2F5(-) does have a D(5h) minimum, which also lies above a (5)C(2v) Pu(V) peroxide structure. However, the energy differences between the different minima are not large, indicating that metastable species with oxidation states higher than Pu(V) cannot be completely excluded.

Plutonium and transplutonium element trioxides: molecular structures, chemical bonding, and isomers

The stability of the An·3O (An = Pu through Cf) lowest-energy isomers should decrease in the series Pu(vi)O₃ > Am(v)O₃ ≈ Bk(v)O₃ > Cm(iii)O(O₂) > Cf(iii)O(O₂).