Front Cover: How 5 f Electron Polarisability Drives Covalency and Selectivity in Actinide N‐Donor Complexes (Chem. Eur. J. 72/2021)

Abstract

N versus O donor: Isostructural complexes [An(pyren)2] (An=Th, U–Pu) with a pyrrole-based ligand (pyren) were synthesised and compared to the structural relative salen. Solid-state analysis and quantum chemical calculations reveal an increased bond strength to the imine nitrogen when changing the second donor from the dominant O to the softer N. In the complexes, the overall bond strength of salen exceeds pyren, except for the Pa case. This can be explained by a greater degree of polarizability for the Pa 5 f1 state. More information can be found in the Full Paper by J. März et al. (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202102849).