Coordination Chemistry of Homoleptic Actinide(IV)–Thiocyanate Complexes

Abstract

The synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, vibrational and optical spectroscopy for the eight-coordinate thiocyanate compounds, [Et4 N]4 [Pu(IV) (NCS)8 ], [Et4 N]4 [Th(IV) (NCS)8 ], and [Et4 N]4 [Ce(III) (NCS)7 (H2 O)] are reported. Thiocyanate was found to rapidly reduce plutonium to Pu(III) in acidic solutions (pH<1) in the presence of NCS(-) . The optical spectrum of [Et4 N][SCN] containing Pu(III) solution was indistinguishable from that of aquated Pu(III) suggesting that inner-sphere complexation with [Et4 N][SCN] does not occur in water. However, upon concentration, the homoleptic thiocyanate complex [Et4 N]4 [Pu(IV) (NCS)8 ] was crystallized when a large excess of [Et4 N][NCS] was present. This compound, along with its U(IV) analogue, maintains inner-sphere thiocyanate coordination in acetonitrile based on the observation of intense ligand-to-metal charge-transfer bands. Spectroscopic and crystallographic data do not support the interaction of the metal orbitals with the ligand π system, but support an enhanced An(IV) -NCS interaction, as the Lewis acidity of the metal ion increases from Th to Pu.