The Exceptional Diversity of Homoleptic Uranium–Methyl Complexes

Abstract

Homoleptic σ-bonded uranium-alkyl complexes have been a synthetic target since the Manhattan Project. The current study describes the synthesis and characterization of several unprecedented uranium-methyl complexes. Amongst these complexes, the first example of a homoleptic uranium-alkyl dimer, [Li(THF) 4 ] 2 [U 2 (CH 3 ) 10 ], as well as a seven-coordinate uranium-methyl monomer, {Li(OEt 2 )Li(OEt 2 ) 2 UMe 7 Li} n were both crystallographically identified. The diversity of complexes reported herein provides critical insight into the structural diversity, electronic structure and bonding in uranium-alkyl chemistry.