This talk will focus on the fine details of electronic structure in berkelium and californium compounds.  Specifically, we will examine the roles of the ligand-field splitting, spin-orbit coupling, and covalency in determining the magnetic and optical properties of these elements in several divergent chemical systems.  We will demonstrate that minute changes in bond distances that are barely statistically significant create rather large changes in observable bulk properties, especially at low temperatures.  We will also demonstrate that the properties of molecules containing these elements can be quite different from that observed in materials with extended structures.  We will conclude with a broad overview of the electronic properties of actinide compounds that will demonstrate that the broad swath often used to descibe lanthanides extends rather poorly to actinides.

Amplification in late actinides: How the minor nuances of electronic structure create bulk effects

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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