Unlocking Novel δ and φ Bonding Modes in Actinides via Oxidation State Control
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Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Batista, Enrique R. (ORCID:0000000230744022).
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Abstract Rare-earth and actinide complexes are critical for a wealth of clean-energy applications. Three-dimensional (3D) structural generation and prediction for these organometallic systems remains a challenge, limiting opportunities for computational chemical discovery. Here, we introduce Architector , a high-throughput in-silico synthesis code for s-, p-, d-, and f-block mononuclear organometallic complexes capable of capturing nearly the full diversity of the known experimental chemical space. Beyond known chemical space, Architector performs in-silico design of new complexes including any chemically accessible metal-ligand combinations. Architector leverages metal-center symmetry, interatomic force fields, and tight binding methods to build many possible 3D conformers from minimal 2D inputs including metal oxidation and spin state. Over a set of more than 6,000 x-ray diffraction (XRD)-determined complexes spanning the periodic table, we demonstrate quantitative agreement between Architector-predicted and experimentally observed structures. Further, we demonstrate out-of-the box conformer generation and energetic rankings of non-minimum energy conformers produced from Architector , which are critical for exploring potential energy surfaces and training force fields. Overall, Architector represents a transformative step towards cross-periodic table computational design of metal complex chemistry.
Abstract In all known examples of metal–ligand (M–L) δ and φ bonds, the metal orbitals are aligned to the ligand orbitals in a “head-to-head” or “side-to-head” fashion. Here, we report two fundamentally new types of M–L δ and φ interactions; “head-to-side” δ and “side-to-side” φ back-bonding, found in complexes of metallacyclopropenes and metallacyclocumulenes of actinides (Pa–Pu) that makes them distinct from their corresponding Group 4 analogues. In addition to the known Th and U complexes, our calculations include complexes of Pa, Np, and Pu. In contrast with conventional An–C bond decreasing, due to the actinide contraction, the An–C distance increases from Pa to Pu. We demonstrate that the direct L–An σ and π donations combined with the An–L δ or φ back-donations are crucial in explaining this non-classical trend of the An–L bond lengths in both series, underscoring the significance of these δ / φ back-donation interactions, and their importance for complexes of Pa and U in particular.
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