The CUO molecule, formed from the reaction of laser-ablated U atoms with CO in a noble gas, exhibits very different stretching frequencies in a solid argon matrix (804.3 and 852.5 cm -1 ) than in a solid neon matrix (872.2 and 1047.3 cm -1 ). Related experiments in a matrix consisting of 1% Ar in Ne suggest that the Ar atoms are interacting directly with the CUO molecule. Relativistic density functional calculations predict that CUO can bind directly to an Ar atom (U-Ar = 3.16 angstroms; binding energy = 3.2 kcal/mol), accompanied by a change in the ground state from a singlet to a triplet. The experimental and theoretical results suggest the possibility that multiple Ar atoms can bind to a single CUO molecule.
Revised: March 2, 2004 |
Published: March 22, 2002
Citation
Li J., B.E. Bursten, B. Liang, and L. Andrews. 2002.Noble Gas-Actinide Compounds: Complexation of the CUO Molecule by Ar, Kr, and Xe Atoms in Noble Gas Matrices.Science 295, no. 5563:2242-2245.PNNL-SA-35992.