title: Anion recognition by uranyl-salophen derivatives as probed by infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy and ab initio modeling.
abstract: The vibrational features and molecular structures of complexes formed by a series of uranyl-salophen receptors with simple anions, such as Cl(-) , H(-) , and HCOO(-) , have been investigated in the gas phase. Spectra of the anionic complexes were studied in the $\tilde \nu $=800-1800 cm(-1) range by mass-selective infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy with a continuously tunable free-electron laser. The gas-phase decarboxylation of the formate adducts produces uranyl-salophen monohydride anions, which have been characterized for the first time and reveal a strong UH bond, the nature of which has been elucidated theoretically. The spectra are in excellent agreement with the results obtained from high-quality ab initio calculations, which provided the structure and binding features of the anion-receptor complexes.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome (Italy).
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bodo
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciavardini
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalla Cort
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Giannicchi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yafteh Mihan
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fornarini
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vasile
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piccirillo
keywords: ab initio calculations; anions; gas-phase reactions; uranium; vibrational spectroscopy