The presence or absence of significant participation in chemical bonding by the f-orbitals in lanthanide and actinide materials has been a subject of debate for many years. In this talk, I will discuss a relatively direct probe of f-orbital involvement in bonding, ligand K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Experimental and theoretical investigations for a number of actinide complexes and solids will be presented and compared with the analogous transition metal complexes. The evidence for f-orbital — ligand bonding interactions, their origin, and the ramifications for actinide electronic structure will be discussed, and the distinction between overlap driven and energy driven covalency emphasized.

Covalency in f-element materials probed with ligand K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy

249th National Meeting (2015)

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