Expanding the crystal chemistry of uranyl peroxides: four hybrid uranyl-peroxide structures containing EDTA

The first four uranyl peroxide compounds containing ethylenediaminetetra-acetate (EDTA) were synthesized and characterized from aqueous uranyl peroxide nitrate solutions with a pH range of 5-7. Raman spectra demonstrated that reaction solutions that crystallized [NaK15[(UO2)8(O2)8(C10H12O10N2)2(C2O4)4]·(H2O)14] (1) and [Li4K6[(UO2)8(O2)6(C10H12O10N2)2(NO3)6]·(H2O)26] (2) contained excess peroxide, and their structures contained oxidized ethylenediaminetetraacetate, EDTAO2(4-). The solutions from which [K4[(UO2)4(O2)2(C10H13O8N2)2(IO3)2]·(H2O)16] (3) and LiK3[(UO2)4(O2)2(C10H12O8N2)2(H2O)2]·(H2O)18 (4) crystallized contained no free peroxide, and the structures incorporated intact EDTA(4-). In contrast to the large family of uranyl peroxide cage clusters, coordination of uranyl peroxide units in 1-4 by EDTA(4-) or EDTAO2(4-) results in isolated tetramers or dimers of uranyl ions that are bridged by bidentate peroxide groups. Two tetramers are bridged by EDTAO2(4-) to form octamers in 1 and 2, and dimers of uranyl polyhedra are linked through iodate groups in 3 and EDTA(4-) in 4, forming chains in both cases. In each structure the U-O2-U dihedral angle is strongly bent, at ∼140°, consistent with the configuration of this linkage in cage clusters and other recently reported uranyl peroxides.