Coordination chemistry of tetravalent actinides

Against the background of nuclear waste disposal, the interactions between actinides and organic complexation agents were studied. Actinides show a variety of different oxidation states, but in case of a deep disposal, the tetravalent species can be predominant in the environment. We synthesised An(IV) chlorides and iodides as actinide starting materials and studied organic ligand systems ranging from pure oxygen to pure nitrogen donors. Some first isostructural actinide complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques showing the typical shortening of the donor-acinide bonds across the actinide series.