Probing the Electronic Structure and Chemical Bonding of Uranium Nitride Complexes of NU-XO (X = C, N, O)

Uranium(III) compounds are very reactive and exhibit a broad range of chemical-bonding tendencies owing to the spatially diffused valence orbitals of uranium. A systematic study on the geometries, electronic structures, and chemical bonding of NU-XO (X = C, N, O) is performed using relativistic quantum chemistry approaches. The NU-CO and NU-NO complexes have an end-on structure, that is, (NU) (η¹-CO) and (NU) (η¹-NO), whereas NU-OO adopts a side-on ((NU) (η²-O₂)) structure. The electronic structure analysis shows that UN exhibits efficient activation reactivity to molecules, especially to NO and O₂, because of the significant U 7s/5f → XO 2π* electron transfer. Thus, the oxidation state of U is +V with the dianion ligand NO^2- and O₂^2- in NU-NO and NU-OO, respectively. Instead, U retains its usual +III oxidation state in NU-CO with a neutral CO ligand. The significant stability of NU-XO (X = C, N, O) is determined by the covalent U-X bonding which contains both X → U σ-, π-donation from the X lone pair and U 5f → XO 2π* back-donation contributions. The significant back-donation to the antibonding X-O 2π* orbital results in the obvious weakening of the X-O bonding.