Our group explores the use of low-valent uranium species for multi-electron organometallic processes and to understand the fundamental reactivity of this underexplored element.  While uranium typically undergoes radical chemistry due to its accessible oxidation states (+3, +4, +5, +6), our group is demonstrating that redox-active ligands can be used to mediate multi-electron chemistry at highly reduced uranium species.  The use of α-diimine and pyridine(diimine) ligands for organometallic transformations will be presented along with characterization of the resulting complexes using <sup>1</sup>H NMR, infrared, and electronic absorption spectroscopies and X-ray crystallography. In several cases, SQUID magnetometry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and computational techniques were also employed to elucidate electronic structures and bonding characteristics. Reactivity of these uranium complexes towards a variety of small molecule substrates will also be discussed. <br/>

Redox-active ligands for the f-block: Promoting multi-electron chemistry at low-valent uranium centers

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.