Hydrothermal preparation of nickel(II)/uranium(IV) fluorides with one-, two-, and three-dimensional topologies

A modified compositional diagram for the reactions of Ni(C(2)H(3)O(2))(2).4H(2)O with UO(2)(C(2)H(3)O(2))(2).2H(2)O and HF in aqueous media under mild hydrothermal conditions (200 degrees C) has been completed to yield three Ni(II)/U(IV) fluorides, Ni(H(2)O)(4)UF(6).1.5H(2)O (1), Ni(2)(H(2)O)(6)U(3)F(16).3H(2)O (2), and Ni(H(2)O)(2)UF(6)(H(2)O) (3). The structure of 1 consists of one-dimensional columns constructed from two parallel chains of edge-sharing dodecahedral [UF(8)] units. The sides of the columns are terminated by octahedral Ni(II) units that occur as cis-[Ni(H(2)O)(4)F(2)] polyhedra. In contrast, the crystal structure of 2 reveals a two-dimensional Ni(II)/U(IV) architecture built from edge-sharing tricapped trigonal prismatic [UF(9)] units. The top and bottom of the sheets are capped by fac-[Ni(H(2)O)(3)F(3)] octahedra. The structure of 3 is formed from [UF(8)(H(2)O)] tricapped trigonal prisms that edge share with one another to form one-dimensional chains. These chains are then joined together into a three-dimensional network by corner sharing with trans-[Ni(H(2)O)(2)F(4)] octahedra. Crystallographic data: 1, orthorhombic, space group Cmcm, a = 14.3383(8) A, b = 15.6867(8) A, c = 8.0282(4) A, Z = 8; 2, hexagonal, space group P6(3)/mmc, a = 7.9863(5) A, c = 16.566(1) A, Z = 2; 3, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 12.059(1) A, b = 6.8895(6) A, c = 7.9351(7) A, beta = 92.833(2) degrees, Z = 4.