Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Atomic Scale Structural Studies of Macromolecular Assemblies by Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Published on: September 17, 2017
Structural and kinetic studies on uranyl(V) carbonate complex using 13C NMR spectroscopy
Koichiro Mizuoka1, Ingmar Grenthe, Yasuhisa Ikeda
1Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.
Abstract:
We have measured 13C NMR spectra of uranyl(V) carbonate complex in D2O solution containing 1.003 M Na2(13)CO3 at various temperatures. Two singlet signals corresponding to free and coordinated CO3(2-) were observed at 169.13 and 106.70 ppm, respectively. From the peak area ratio, the structure of the uranyl(V) carbonate complex was determined as [U(V)O2(CO3)3]5-. Furthermore, kinetic analyses of the exchange reaction of free and coordinated CO3(2-) in [U(V)O2(CO3)3]5- were carried out using 13C NMR line-broadening. As a result, the first-order rate constant at 298 K and the activation parameters for CO3(2-) exchange reaction in [U(V)O2(CO3)3]5- were evaluated as 1.13 x 10(3) s(-1) and deltaH(double dagger) = 62.0 +/- 0.7 kJ x mol(-1), deltaS(double dagger) = 22 +/- 3 J x mol(-1) x K(-1), respectively. We suggest that the exchange follows a dissociative mechanism as in the corresponding [U(VI)O2(CO3)3]4- complex.
Related Concept Videos
Carbon-13 (¹³C) NMR: Overview
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
¹³C NMR: ¹H–¹³C Decoupling
A broadband decoupling technique is used to simplify these complex, sometimes overlapping, signals. Broadband decoupling relies on a...
Determination of Crystal Structures
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...

