Abstract:
Actinides are large, radioactive, electropositive metals that need and want electron density. Hence, they prefer hard Lewis bases such as oxygen and nitrogen. Our group has been developing the chemistry of the actinides with soft Lewis bases, such as phosphorus and arsenic, thus depriving the metal center of electron density. This dramatically increases the reactivity of these complexes leading to unusual reactivity. In addition, uranium can exist in multiple oxidation states and low-valent uranium is well-known to be a powerful reducing agent. In each case, our group utilizes the unique properties of the actinides to investigate reaction modes and potential intermediates to convert small molecules such as CO into more desirable chemicals. Our recent results will be discussed in this seminar.