Pillared and open-framework uranyl diphosphonates

Abstract

The hydrothermal reactions of uranium trioxide, uranyl acetate, or uranyl nitrate with 1,4-benzenebisphosphonic acid in the presence of very small amount of HF at 200 °C results in the formation of three different uranyl diphosphonate compounds, [H 3O] 2{(UO 2) 6[C 6H 4(PO 3)(PO 2OH)] 2[C 6H 4(PO 2OH) 2] 2[C 6H 4(PO 3) 2]}(H 2O) 2 ( Ubbp-1), [H 3O] 4{(UO 2) 4[C 6H 4(PO 3) 2] 2F 4}·H 2O ( Ubbp-2), and {(UO 2)[C 6H 2F 2(PO 2OH) 2(H 2O)} 2·H 2O ( Ubbp-3). The crystal structures of these compounds were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. Ubbp-1 consists of UO 7 pentagonal bipyramids that are bridged by the phosphonate moieties to form a three-dimensional pillared structure. Ubbp-2 is composed of UO 5F 2 pentagonal bipyramids that are bridged through the phosphonate oxygen atoms into one-dimensional chains that are cross-linked by the phenyl spacers into a pillared structure. The structure of Ubbp-3 is a three-dimensional open-framework with large channels containing water molecules with internal dimensions of approximately 10.9×10.9 Å. Ubbp-1 and Ubbp-2 fluoresce at room temperature.