ABSTRACT
The speciation of protactinium(V) in hydrofluoric acid (HF) solutions was studied using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements were performed on an aqueous solution of 0.05 M protactinium(V) with various HF concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 27 M in order to probe the protactinium coordination sphere with respect to the identity and number of coordinating ligands. The resulting fits to the spectra suggest the presence of an eight-coordinate homoleptic fluoro complex in highly concentrated fluoride solutions (27 M), with equilibrium between seven- and eight-coordinate fluoro complexes at moderate acidities, and in more dilute solutions, results indicate that one water molecule is likely to replace a fluoride in the first coordination sphere, at a distance of 2.54-2.57 Å. Comparisons of this chemistry with group V metals, niobium and tantalum, are presented, and the potential implications for these results on the hydrolytic behavior of protactinium in aqueous systems are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Seven protactinium(V) fluoride compounds have been synthesized, and their crystal structures and Raman spectra are reported. (NH4)2PaF7, K2PaF7, Rb2PaF7, and Cs2PaF7 were found to crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/c for the ammonium compound and C2/c for the K(+)-, Rb(+)-, and Cs(+)-containing compounds, with nine-coordinate Pa forming infinite chains through fluorine bridges. Na3PaF8 crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4/mmm with eight-coordinate Pa in tetragonal geometry, while tetramethylammonium fluoroprotactinate shows two different structures: (Me4N)2(H3O)PaF8, an eight-coordinate molecular compound crystallizing in the monoclinic space group C2/c, and (Me4N)PaF6, an eight-coordinate Pa compound forming infinite chains and crystallizing in the orthorhombic space group Pnnm. A comparison of solid- and solution-state Raman data indicates that the PaF8(-) anion could be the predominant Pa(V) complex in concentrated solutions of aqueous HF.
