Bonding and charge transfer in nitrogen-donor uranyl complexes: insights from NEXAFS spectra

We investigate the electronic structure of three newly synthesized nitrogen-donor uranyl complexes [(UO2)(H2bbp)Cl2], [(UO)2(Hbbp)(Py)Cl], and [(UO2)(bbp)(Py)2] using a combination of near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy experiments and simulations. The complexes studied feature derivatives of the tunable tridentate N-donor ligand 2,6-bis(2-benzimidazyl)pyridine (bbp) and exhibit discrete chemical differences in uranyl coordination. The sensitivity of the N K-edge X-ray absorption spectrum to local bonding and charge transfer is exploited to systematically investigate the evolution of structural as well as electronic properties across the three complexes. A thorough interpretation of the measured experimental spectra is achieved via ab initio NEXAFS simulations based on the eXcited electron and Core-Hole (XCH) approach and enables the assignment of spectral features to electronic transitions on specific absorbing sites. We find that ligand-uranyl bonding leads to a signature blue shift in the N K-edge absorption onset, resulting from charge displacement toward the uranyl, while changes in the equatorial coordination shell of the uranyl lead to more subtle modulations in the spectral features. Theoretical simulations show that the flexible local chemistry at the nonbinding imidazole-N sites of the bbp ligand is also reflected in the NEXAFS spectra and highlights potential synthesis strategies to improve selectivity. In particular, we find that interactions of the bbp ligand with solvent molecules can lead to changes in ligand-uranyl binding geometry while also modulating the K-edge absorption. Our results suggest that NEXAFS spectroscopy combined with first-principles interpretation can offer insights into the coordination chemistry of analogous functionalized conjugated ligands.