title: Molecular octa-uranium rings with alternating nitride and azide bridges.
abstract: Uranium nitrides offer potential as future nuclear fuels and as probes of metal ligand multiple bonding involving the f-block actinide metals. However, few molecular examples are available for study owing to the difficulties in synthesis. Recent advances in organoactinide chemistry have provided a route to uranium nitride complexes that expands the options for developing UN chemistry. Several 24-membered uranium nitrogen rings, (UNUN3)4, have been synthesized by reduction of sodium azide with organometallic metallocene derivatives, [(C5Me4R)2U][(mu-Ph)2BPh2] (R = Me, H; Me = methyl, Ph = phenyl). The nanometer-sized rings contain unusual UNU nitride linkages that have short U-N distances within the double-bond range.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA. wevans@uci.edu
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Stosh A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kozimor
authors.forename: Joseph W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ziller