Extended X-ray Fine Structure Research Articles

Toward Mechanistic Understanding of Mechanochemical Reactions Using Real-Time In Situ Monitoring.

The past two decades have witnessed a rapid emergence of interest in mechanochemistry-chemical and materials reactivity achieved or sustained by the action of mechanical force-which has led to application of mechanochemistry to almost all areas of modern chemical and materials synthesis: from organic, inorganic, and organometallic chemistry to enzymatic reactions, formation of metal-organic frameworks, hybrid perovskites, and nanoparticle-based materials. The recent success of mechanochemistry by ball milling has also raised questions about the underlying mechanisms and has led to the realization that the rational development and effective harnessing of mechanochemical reactivity for cleaner and more efficient chemical manufacturing will critically depend on establishing a mechanistic understanding of these reactions. Despite their long history, the development of such a knowledge framework for mechanochemical reactions is still incomplete. This is in part due to the, until recently, unsurmountable challenge of directly observing transformations taking place in a rapidly oscillating or rotating milling vessel, with the sample being under the continuous impact of milling media. A transformative change in mechanistic studies of milling reactions was recently introduced through the first two methodologies for real-time in situ monitoring based on synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Introduced in 2013 and 2014, the two new techniques have inspired a period of tremendous method development, resulting also in new techniques for mechanistic mechanochemical studies that are based on temperature and/or pressure monitoring, extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS), and, latest, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The new technologies available for real-time monitoring have now inspired the development of experimental strategies and advanced data analysis approaches for the identification and quantification of short-lived reaction intermediates, the development of new mechanistic models, as well as the emergence of more complex monitoring methodologies based on two or three simultaneous monitoring approaches. The use of these new opportunities has, in less than a decade, enabled the first real-time observations of mechanochemical reaction kinetics and the first studies of how the presence of additives, or other means of modifying the mechanochemical reaction, influence reaction rates and pathways. These studies have revealed multistep reaction mechanisms, enabled the identification of autocatalysis, as well as identified molecules and materials that have previously not been known or have even been considered not possible to synthesize through conventional approaches. Mechanistic studies through in situ powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Raman spectroscopy have highlighted the formation of supramolecular complexes (for example, cocrystals) as critical intermediates in organic and metal-organic synthesis and have also been combined with isotope labeling strategies to provide a deeper insight into mechanochemical reaction mechanisms and atomic and molecular dynamics under milling conditions. This Account provides an overview of this exciting, rapidly evolving field by presenting the development and concepts behind the new methodologies for real-time in situ monitoring of mechanochemical reactions, outlining key advances in mechanistic understanding of mechanochemistry, and presenting selected studies important for pushing forward the boundaries of measurement techniques, data analysis, and mapping of reaction mechanisms.

Metal-Organic Framework-Confined Single-Site Base-Metal Catalyst for Chemoselective Hydrodeoxygenation of Carbonyls and Alcohols.

Chemoselective deoxygenation of carbonyls and alcohols using hydrogen by heterogeneous base-metal catalysts is crucial for the sustainable production of fine chemicals and biofuels. We report an aluminum metal-organic framework (DUT-5) node support cobalt(II) hydride, which is a highly chemoselective and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for deoxygenation of a range of aromatic and aliphatic ketones, aldehydes, and primary and secondary alcohols, including biomass-derived substrates under 1 bar H2. The single-site cobalt catalyst (DUT-5-CoH) was easily prepared by postsynthetic metalation of the secondary building units (SBUs) of DUT-5 with CoCl2 followed by the reaction of NaEt3BH. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) indicated the presence of CoII and AlIII centers in DUT-5-CoH and DUT-5-Co after catalysis. The coordination environment of the cobalt center of DUT-5-Co before and after catalysis was established by extended X-ray fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and density functional theory. The kinetic and computational data suggest reversible carbonyl coordination to cobalt preceding the turnover-limiting step, which involves 1,2-insertion of the coordinated carbonyl into the cobalt-hydride bond. The unique coordination environment of the cobalt ion ligated by oxo-nodes within the porous framework and the rate independency on the pressure of H2 allow the deoxygenation reactions chemoselectively under ambient hydrogen pressure.

Atomic-level insights into the activation of nitrogen via hydrogen-bond interaction toward nitrogen photofixation

Summary As the activation of N2 molecules is generally regarded as the bottleneck in N2 reduction, it is of significant importance to develop promising strategies to efficiently activate N2 molecules. Herein, we discovered an innovative approach to activate N2 molecules via hydrogen-bond interaction in N2 photofixation. Porous Cu with surface modification of S atoms (3%-S/Cu) exhibited remarkable catalytic activity and stability in N2 photofixation. Further mechanistic studies revealed that surface S atoms directly participated in the catalytic process by accepting and donating H atoms. In addition, the forming S–H bond significantly promoted the activation of N2 molecules via hydrogen-bond interaction, contributing to the enhanced catalytic activity.

The local structure of 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 from neutron total scattering measurements and multi-edge X-ray absorption analysis

Neutron total scattering measurements and multi-edge X-ray absorption analysis were performed on a 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 powder sample. The TiIII-II edges showed that titanium is distorted in the rhombohedral [111] direction (in a BaTiO3-like chemical and bonding environment). Extended X-ray fine structure analysis (EXAFS) was performed on the zirconium K-edge and it was found that zirconium resides in the center of the ZrO6 octahedra in cubic symmetry. The local structure was initially modelled with the orthorhombic Amm2 space group with unsatisfactory results. To better model the local structure, the results from the EXAFS analysis were incorporated into the small-box pair distribution function (PDF) refinements and the best fit of the observed data was a combination of barium calcium titanate (BCT) and barium calcium zirconate (BCZ) phases.

Reversible and irreversible processes during cyclic voltammetry of an electrodeposited manganese oxide as catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction

Manganese oxides have received much attention over the years among the wide range of electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to their low toxicity, high abundance and rich redox chemistry. While many previous studies focused on the activity of these materials, a better understanding of the material transformations relating to activation or degradation is highly desirable, both from a scientific perspective and for applications. We electrodeposited Na-containing MnOx without long-range order from an alkaline solution to investigate these aspects by cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the Mn-K and Mn-L edges. The pristine film was assigned to a layered edge-sharing Mn3+/4+ oxide with Mn-O bond lengths of mainly 1.87 Å and some at 2.30 Å as well as Mn-Mn bond lengths of 2.87 Å based on fits to the extended x-ray fine structure. The decrease of the currents at voltages before the onset of the OER followed power laws with three different exponents depending on the number of cycles and the Tafel slope decreases from 186 ± 48 to 114 ± 18 mV dec−1 after 100 cycles, which we interpret in the context of surface coverage with unreacted intermediates. Post-mortem microscopy and bulk spectroscopy at the Mn-K edge showed no change of the microstructure, bulk local structure or bulk Mn valence. Yet, the surface region of MnOx oxidized toward Mn4+, which explains the reduction of the currents in agreement with literature. Surprisingly, we find that MnOx reactivates after 30 min at open-circuit (OC), where the currents and also the Tafel slope increase. Reactivation processes during OC are crucial because OC is unavoidable when coupling the electrocatalysts to intermittent power sources such as solar energy for sustainable energy production.

Aluminum Hydroxide Secondary Building Units in a Metal–Organic Framework Support Earth-Abundant Metal Catalysts for Broad-Scope Organic Transformations

The intrinsic heterogeneity of alumina (Al2O3) surface presents a challenge for the development of alumina-supported single-site heterogeneous catalysts and hinders the characterization of catalytic species at the molecular level as well as the elucidation of mechanistic details of the catalytic reactions. Here we report the use of aluminum hydroxide secondary building units (SBUs) in the MIL-53(Al) metal–organic framework (MOF) with the formula Al(μ2–OH)(BDC) (BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) as a uniform and structurally defined functional mimic of Al2O3 surface for supporting Earth-abundant metal (EAM) catalysts. The μ2–OH groups in MIL-53(Al) SBUs were readily deprotonated and metalated with CoCl2 and FeCl2 to afford MIL-53(Al)-CoCl and MIL-53(Al)-FeCl precatalysts which were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, elemental analysis, density functional theory, and extended X-ray fine structure spectroscopy. Activation with NaBEt3H converted MIL-53(Al)-CoCl to MIL-53(Al)-CoH which effectively catalyzed hydroboration of alkynes and nitriles and hydrosilylation of esters. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) indicated the presence of AlIII and CoII centers in MIL-53(Al)-CoH while deuterium labeling studies suggested σ-bond metathesis as a key step for the MIL-53(Al)-CoH-catalyzed addition reactions. MIL-53(Al)-FeCl competently catalyzed oxidative Csp3–H amination and Wacker-type alkene oxidation. XANES analysis revealed the oxidation of FeII to FeIII centers in the activated MIL-53(Al)-FeCl catalyst and suggested that oxidative Csp3–H amination occurs via the formation of FeIII–OtBu species by single electron transfer between FeII centers in MIL-53(Al)-FeCl and (tBuO)2 with concomitant generation of 1 equiv of tBuO· radical, C–H activation through hydrogen atom abstraction to generate alkyl radicals, protonation of FeIII–OtBu by aniline to generate MIL-53(Al)-FeIII-anilide, and finally C–N coupling between the FeIII-anilide and alkyl radical to form the Csp3–H amination product and regenerate the FeII catalyst. These highly active single-site MOF-based solid catalysts were readily recovered and reused up to five times without significant decrease in catalytic activity. This work thus demonstrates the great potential of using the aluminum hydroxide SBUs in MOFs to support EAM catalysts for important organic transformations.

Trapping a Ru2O3 Corundum-like Structure at Ultrathin, Disordered RuO2 Nanoskins Expressed in 3D

Protocols that express functional materials in a way that amplifies their surface-to-volume ratio offer a means to probe the structural ambiguity and surface-mediated reactivity of technologically important materials. We previously reported that three-dimensional (3D) ultraporous scaffolds, such as silica aerogels, silica fiber paper, and carbon nanofoam paper (CNF), provide a form factor that expresses energy-storing, catalytic ruthenium oxide (RuOx) as essentially all-surface—and a highly disordered one at that. To track the chemical state and solid-state structure of the 3D-expressed RuOx nanoskins as a function of thermal processing, we use X-ray near-edge structure (XANES), extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS), and differential pair-distribution function (DPDF) analyses. We find that a Ru-centered ∼2.4 A correlation present in the as-deposited oxide, also observed in PDF analysis of RuO2·nH2O but previously unassigned, fits the metastable corundum-like Ru2O3 structure. This corundum-like feature dim...

Large-Scale Synthesis and Comprehensive Structure Study of δ-MnO2.

Layered δ-MnO2 (birnessites) are ubiquitous in nature and have also been reported to work as promising water oxidation catalysts or rechargeable alkali-ion battery cathodes when fabricated under appropriate conditions. Although tremendous effort has been spent on resolving the structure of natural/synthetic layered δ-MnO2 in the last few decades, no conclusive result has been reached. In this Article, we report an environmentally friendly route to synthesizing homogeneous Cu-rich layered δ-MnO2 nanoflowers in large scale. The local and average structure of synthetic Cu-rich layered δ-MnO2 has been successfully resolved from combined Mn/Cu K-edge extended X-ray fine structure spectroscopy and X-ray and neutron total scattering analysis. It is found that appreciable amounts (∼8%) of Mn vacancies are present in the MnO2 layer and Cu2+ occupies the interlayer sites above/below the vacant Mn sites. Effective hydrogen bonding among the interlayer water molecules and adjacent layer O ions has also been observed for the first time. These hydrogen bonds are found to play the key role in maintaining the intermediate and long-range stacking coherence of MnO2 layers. Quantitative analysis of the turbostratic stacking disorder in this compound was achieved using a supercell approach coupled with anisotropic particle-size-effect modeling. The present method is expected to be generally applicable to the structural study of other technologically important nanomaterials.

From Cubic Palladium to Concave Core-Shell Platinum Palladium Nanoparticles: Evolution of the Structure and Their Electrochemical Properties

The PtPd nanoparticles are synthesized following different methods and intensively investigated for their catalytic properties oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), with a potential application in fuel cells. The galvanic replacement is an attractive method to prepare bimetallic particles with high catalytic activity and a high control of the morphology and chemical composition, varying with the experimental conditions during the synthesis. The influence of the time with the transformation from pure Pd nanocubes to concave core-shell PtPd nanoparticles synthesized by galvanic replacement is examined: after different times of preparation, the morphology of the particles was monitored by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Via X-Ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), the crystallographic structure and the variation of size, lattice parameters, d-spacing, and composition were determined. The extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) measurements show the formation of a PtPd alloy at the surface of the particles for all samples. Finally, the electrochemical determination of the catalytic activity and stability tests revealed two different particle types as candidates to replace pure Pt as catalyst in the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) due to their enhanced stability, higher catalytic activity, and lower Pt content.

The coordination chemistry of CmIII, AmIII, and AcIII in nitrate solutions: an actinide L3-edge EXAFS study.

Understanding actinide(iii) (AnIII = CmIII, AmIII, AcIII) solution-phase speciation is critical for controlling many actinide processing schemes, ranging from medical applications to reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Unfortunately, in comparison to most elements in the periodic table, AnIII speciation is often poorly defined in complexing aqueous solutions and in organic media. This neglect - in large part - is a direct result of the radioactive properties of these elements, which make them difficult to handle and acquire. Herein, we surmounted some of the handling challenges associated with these exotic 5f-elements and characterized CmIII, AmIII, and AcIII using AnIII L3-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) as a function of increasing nitric acid (HNO3) concentration. Our results revealed that actinide aquo ions, An(H2O) x 3+ (x = 9.6 ± 0.7, 8.9 ± 0.8, and 10.0 ± 0.9 for CmIII, AmIII, and AcIII), were the dominant species in dilute HNO3 (0.05 M). In concentrated HNO3 (16 M), shell-by-shell fitting of the extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) data showed the nitrate complexation increased, such that the average stoichiometries of Cm(NO3)4.1±0.7(H2O)5.7±1.3 (1.1±0.2)-, Am(NO3)3.4±0.7(H2O)5.4±0.5 (0.4±0.1)-, and Ac(NO3)2.3±1.7(H2O)8.3±5.2 (0.7±0.5)+ were observed. Data obtained at the intermediate HNO3 concentration (4 M) were modeled as a linear combination of the 0.05 and 16 M spectra. For all three metals, the intermediate models showed larger contributions from the 0.05 M HNO3 spectra than from the 16 M HNO3 spectra. Additionally, these efforts enabled the Cm-NO3 and Ac-NO3 distances to be measured for the first time. Moreover, the AnIII L3-edge EXAFS results, contribute to the growing body of knowledge associated with CmIII, AmIII, and AcIII coordination chemistry, in particular toward advancing understanding of AnIII solution phase speciation.

Selective Activation of Methane on Single-Atom Catalyst of Rhodium Dispersed on Zirconia for Direct Conversion.

Direct methane conversion into value-added products has become increasingly important. Because of inertness of methane, cleaving the first C-H bond has been very difficult, requiring high reaction temperature on the heterogeneous catalysts. Once the first C-H bond becomes activated, the remaining C-H bonds are successively dissociated on the metal surface, hindering the direct methane conversion into chemicals. Here, a single-atom Rh catalyst dispersed on ZrO2 surface has been synthesized and used for selective activation of methane. The Rh single atomic nature was confirmed by extended X-ray fine structure analysis, electron microscopy images, and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. A model of the single-atom Rh/ZrO2 catalyst was constructed by density functional theory calculations, and it was shown that CH3 intermediates can be energetically stabilized on the single-atom catalyst. The direct conversion of methane was performed using H2O2 in the aqueous solution or using O2 in gas phase as oxidants. Whereas Rh nanoparticles produced CO2 only, the single-atom Rh catalyst produced methanol in aqueous phase or ethane in gas phase.

Chemical Short-Range Order in Selenide and Telluride Glasses.

The structure of Ge20SbxSe80-x (x = 5, 15, 20) glasses was investigated by neutron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and extended X-ray fine structure measurements at the Ge, Sb, and Se K-edges. For each composition, large-scale structural models were obtained by fitting simultaneously the experimental data sets in the framework of the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique. It was found that the structures of these glasses can be described mostly by the chemically ordered network model. Ge-Se and Sb-Se bonds are preferred; Se-Se bonds in the Se-poor composition (x = 20) and M-M (M = Ge, Sb) bonds in strongly Se-rich glass (x = 5) are not needed. The quality of the fits was significantly improved by introducing Ge-Ge bonding in the nearly stoichiometric composition (x = 15), showing a violation of chemical ordering. The structure of Ge20SbxSe80-x was compared to that of several glasses from the three analogous systems (Ge-As-Se, Ge-As-Te, Ge-Sb-Te), and it was found that chemical short-range order becomes more pronounced upon substituting As with Sb and Se with Te. Ge-As-Se glasses behave as random covalent networks over a very broad composition range. Chemical short-range order and disorder coexist in both Te-rich and Te-poor Ge-As-Te glasses, whereas amorphous Ge14Sb29Te57 and Ge22Sb22Te56 are governed by strict chemical preferences.

Evaluation of arsenic sorption and mobility in stream sediment and hot spring deposit in three drainages of the Tibetan Plateau

Enrichment of arsenic (As) in sediment (12–227 mg/kg) in the upstream tributaries of the Indus and Brahmaputra Rivers originating from the Tibetan Plateau where hot springs were abundant has been found. Sandy sediment samples from the Nu-Salween River, Lantsang-Mekong River and Jinsha-Yangtze River also originating from the Tibetan Plateau were collected in July, 2012 and were found to contain 6.8 mg/kg to 30.5 mg/kg As (average17.3 ± 6.5 mg/kg, n = 12). Deposits collected within 1 m of two hot springs in Changdu, Tibet displayed significantly higher As levels: 263.7 mg/kg in LD-2 with 65% quartz and 101.8 mg/kg in NuD-1 with 82% calcite. To evaluate the valence states of As and also the phases responsible for sorption, X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) was employed to analyze the two hot spring deposits and three river sediment samples: coarse sand NuD-6 (As 14.6 mg/kg), fine sand NuD-4 (As 17.8 mg/kg), and silty sand LD-1 (As 30.5 mg/kg). The X-ray absorption near edge spectrum (XANES) data indicate that 70% of As from 3 samples in the Nu-Salween River drainage (NuD-1, NuD-4 and NuD-6) is As(V) or arsenate, with the rest being As(0) or As–Fe sulfides. The proportion of As(V) is 90% for 2 samples in the Lantsang-Mekong River drainage (LD-1 and LD-2). Linear combination fit of the iron extended X-ray fine structure spectrum (EXAFS) show that 3 samples from the Nu-Salween River contain 20% ferrihydrite and 10% goethite without any hematite being detected but 2 samples from the Lantsang-Mekong River contain <10% ferrihydrite, 20% goethite and with 30–60% of hematite. Concentrations of reductively leached As and Fe are correlated (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.673), with an average value of extracted As being 1.7 ± 0.6 mg/kg (n = 8) and 4.3 ± 2.0 mg/kg (n = 3) for the Nu-Salween and Lantsang-Mekong river, respectively. Parameters from the Langmuir isotherm fit to sorption experiments of As(III) and As(V) onto three river sediment samples were used to estimate “sorbed” As concentrations in river sediment in equilibrium with the average river water As concentrations. The “sorbed” As concentrations were 0.8 mg/kg and 2.8 mg/kg for the Nu-Salween and Lantsang-Mekong drainage, respectively. Taken together, the data suggest that this pool of “sorbed” As in river sand, likely to have a geothermal As component, remains largely particle-bound in the oxic and circumneutral riverine environment during transport; it is subject to mobilization once buried in the floodplain areas down gradient.

Effect of Annealing Temperature to Oxidation State of Sr&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;FeMoO&lt;sub&gt;6&lt;/sub&gt; Double Perovskite Film

We report our investigation on structural and magnetic properties of double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 (SFMO) films fabricated at different annealing temperatures. Structural properties have been investigated by means of X-ray absorption near-edge spectra and extended X-ray fine structure, where a change of oxidation state has been observed depending on the annealing temperature. It is found that the oxidation state becomes more deficient for a lower annealing temperature, indicating a lower number of unoccupied Fe states with decreasing Mo coordination number. Ordering degree of Fe and Mo ions in SFMO films is found to strongly correlate to the oxidation state, resulting in the subsequent magnetic property change.

Molecular binding mechanisms of manganese to the root cell wall of Phytolacca americana L. using multiple spectroscopic techniques

The root cell wall (RCW) of Mn hyperaccumulator Phytolacca americana L. (P. americana) plays an important role in immobilizing and detoxifying excessive Mn, but the molecular binding mechanism of Mn to RCW has been little studied. This study investigated the effect of varied pH on Mn adsorption by the isolated RCW from P. americana in batch experiments, and explored the binding mechanisms of Mn to RCW using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and extended X-ray fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). Results showed that Mn binding capacity depends on solution pH, with an optimal pH of 5.0–6.0. Experimental isotherm data could be successfully modeled by the Langmuir and Freundlich equations; the estimated maximum Mn adsorption capacity was 5.446mgg−1 according to the established Langmuir isotherm. FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated hydroxyl and carboxyl groups were probably involved in the Mn binding process. XANES results showed that Mn remained as Mn(II) after adsorption on RCW, without any change of oxidation state; EXAFS analysis further revealed that Mn was complexed to RCW via bidentate inner-sphere coordination with carboxyl, which provides new structure information of Mn adsorbed on biomaterials and accounted for high Mn accumulation on RCW of P. americana.

Comparison of local distortions in Ba8Ga16X30 (X = Si, Ge, Sn): an EXAFS study

We report an extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) analysis of the type-I clathrates Ba8Ga16X30 (X = Si, Sn) and compare the results with the results of previous studies on X = Ge. The environment about Ba is the most disordered for X=Sn.

Local structure and polarization resistance of Ce doped SrMnO3 using extended x-ray fine structure analysis

Changes to the local structure of Sr and Mn atoms in Sr1−xCexMnO3 (SCM) according to increasing Ce content and the effect of the structural change on the polarization resistance of SCM were investigated. The reduction of manganese was confirmed by the absorption edge shift of the Mn K-edge toward lower energies. The noise of oscillation in extended X-ray absorption fine structure k3χ data at Mn K-edge reveals the distortion of the local structure of Mn atoms, and the peak that indicates the bonding length of Mn-O, Sr/Ce, and -Mn decreased with the addition of Ce content in Fourier transformations of the Mn K-edge. The distortion of the local structure at Mn atoms was affected by the reduced manganese ions having larger ionic radii than Mn4+. Meanwhile, few distortions of local atomic structures of Sr atoms occurred, and the average nearest neighboring distances of Sr-O and Sr-Mn are ∼2.13 A and ∼2.95 A, respectively. The average bonding lengths of the Ce-O and Ce-Mn increased because the ionic radius of s...

The product of microbial uranium reduction includes multiple species with U(IV)–phosphate coordination

Until recently, the reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) during bioremediation was assumed to produce solely the sparingly soluble mineral uraninite, UO2(s). However, results from several laboratories reveal other species of U(IV) characterized by the absence of an EXAFS U–U pair correlation (referred to here as noncrystalline U(IV)). Because it lacks the crystalline structure of uraninite, this species is likely to be more labile and susceptible to reoxidation. In the case of single species cultures, analyses of U extended X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) spectra have previously suggested U(IV) coordination to carboxyl, phosphoryl or carbonate groups. In spite of this evidence, little is understood about the species that make up noncrystalline U(IV), their structural chemistry and the nature of the U(IV)–ligand interactions. Here, we use infrared spectroscopy (IR), uranium LIII-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and phosphorus K-edge XAS analyses to constrain the binding environments of phosphate and uranium associated with Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 bacterial cells. Systems tested as a function of pH included: cells under metal-reducing conditions without uranium, cells under reducing conditions that produced primarily uraninite, and cells under reducing conditions that produced primarily biomass-associated noncrystalline U(IV). P X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) results provided clear and direct evidence of U(IV) coordination to phosphate. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy revealed a pronounced perturbation of phosphate functional groups in the presence of uranium. Analysis of these data provides evidence that U(IV) is coordinated to a range of phosphate species, including monomers and polymerized networks. U EXAFS analyses and a chemical extraction measurements support these conclusions. The results of this study provide new insights into the binding mechanisms of biomass-associated U(IV) species which in turn sheds light on the mechanisms of biological U(VI) reduction.

Redox state of plutonium in irradiated mixed oxide fuels

Nowadays, MOX fuels are used in about 20 nuclear power plants around the world. After irradiation, plutonium co-exists with uranium oxide. Due to the redox sensitive nature of UO2 other plutonium oxides than PuO2 potentially present in the fuel may interact with the matrix. The aim of this study is to determine which plutonium species are present in heterogeneous and homogeneous MOX. The results provided by X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) for non-irradiated as well as irradiated (center and periphery) homogeneous MOX fuel were published earlier and are completed by Extended X-ray Fine Structure (EXAFS) analysis in this work. The EXAFS signals have been extracted using the Athena code and the analyses were carried using Excure98 as performed earlier for an analogous element. EXAFS shows that plutonium redox state remains tetravalent in the solid solution and that the minor fraction of trivalent Pu must be below 10%. Independently, the study of homogeneous MOX was also approached by thermodynamics of solid solution of (U,Pu)O2. Such solid solutions were modeled using the Gibbs Energy Minimisation (GEM)-Selektor code (developed at LES, NES, PSI) supported by the literature data on such solid solutions. A comparative study was performed showing which plutonium oxides in their respective mole fractions are more likely to occur in (U,Pu)O2. In the modeling, these oxides were set as ideal and non-ideal solid solutions, as well as separate pure phases. Pu exists mainly as PuO2 in the case of separate phases, but can exist under its reduced forms, PuO1.61 and PuO1.5 in minor fraction i.e. ~15% in ideal solid solution (unlikely) and ~10% in non-ideal solid solution (likely) and at temperature around 1300K. This combined thermodynamic and EXAFS studies confirm independently the results obtained so far by Pu XANES for the same MOX samples.

Selenolate-Protected Au38 Nanoclusters: Isolation and Structural Characterization

We report the isolation and structural characterization of dodecaneselenolate-protected Au38 clusters (Au38(SeC12H25)24). These clusters were synthesized via the reaction of phenylethanethiolate-protected Au38 clusters (Au38(SC2H4Ph)24) with didodecyldiselenide ((C12H25Se)2). Characterization of the product by mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis confirmed that highly pure Au38(SeC12H25)24 had been obtained. The electronic and geometrical structures, bonding characteristics, and stability of the Au38(SeC12H25)24 clusters were assessed using extended X-ray fine structure and X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements, optical absorption spectroscopy, electrochemical measurements, and stability testing.