Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Anion Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Electronic Structure of UC2-/0
Burak A Tufekci1, Isuru R Ariyarathna2, Shiying Wang1
1Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland21218, USA.
Abstract:
Anion photoelectron spectroscopy (aPES) of the uranium dicarbide molecular anion, UC2-, was performed in conjunction with ab initio electronic structure calculations to investigate the molecular and electronic structures of anionic and neutral UC2-/0. Our combined experimental-theoretical approach assigns both UC2- and neutral UC2 to structurally similar non-linear U(CC) geometries, with U(CC) adopting a slightly lower symmetry Cs4A″ structure and neutral U(CC) adopting the C2v5A2 structure, herein described as the T-shaped U(CC) isomer. The experimental vertical detachment energy (VDE) of UC2- was determined to be 1.58 ± 0.05 eV, in reasonable agreement with the calculated VDE of 1.30 eV obtained from Franck-Condon simulation. This assignment is further supported by the vibrational progression observed in the experimental spectrum, with spacings in the range of 480-565 cm-1, which agrees with the calculated U-C2 stretching mode of neutral UC2 at 518.76 cm-1. These results provide evidence for the long-predicted non-linear ground-state structure of UC2.
More Related Videos
12:05U2O5 Film Preparation via UO2 Deposition by Direct Current Sputtering and Successive Oxidation and Reduction with Atomic Oxygen and Atomic Hydrogen
Published on: February 21, 2019
08:23Analyzing the Photo-oxidation of 2-propanol at Indoor Air Level Concentrations Using Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry
Published on: June 14, 2018
Related Concept Videos
π Molecular Orbitals of the Allyl Cation and Anion
Electron Configurations
The relative energies of the subshells determine the order in which atomic orbitals are filled (1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s,...
Electron Configuration of Multielectron Atoms
The Aufbau Principle and Hund's Rule
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
π Electron Effects on Chemical Shift: Aromatic and Antiaromatic Compounds