The effect of coordinated water on the connectivity of uranium(IV) sulfate x-hydrate: [U(SO4)2(H2O)5]·H2O and [U(SO4)2(H2O)6]·2H2O, and a comparison with other known structures.

Two new solid-state uranium(IV) sulfate x-hydrate complexes (where x is the total number of coordinated plus solvent waters), namely catena-poly[[pentaaquauranium(IV)]-di-µ-sulfato-κ(4)O:O'] monohydrate], {[U(SO4)2(H2O)5]·H2O}n, and hexaaquabis(sulfato-κ(2)O,O')uranium(IV) dihydrate, [U(SO4)2(H2O)6]·2H2O, have been synthesized, structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and analyzed by vibrational (IR and Raman) spectroscopy. By comparing these structures with those of four other known uranium(IV) sulfate x-hydrates, the effect of additional coordinated water molecules on their structures has been elucidated. As the number of coordinated water molecules increases, the sulfate bonds are displaced, thus changing the binding mode of the sulfate ligands to the uranium centre. As a result, uranium(IV) sulfate x-hydrate changes from being fully crosslinked in three dimensions in the anhydrous compound, through sheet and chain linking in the tetra- and hexahydrates, to fully unlinked molecules in the octa- and nonahydrates. It can be concluded that coordinated waters play an important role in determining the structure and connectivity of U(IV) sulfate complexes.

Scope and limitations of the base-catalyzed phospha-peterson P=C bond-forming reaction.

Phosphaalkenes (MesP=CRR': R = R' = Ph (1a); R = R' = 4-FC6H4 (1b); R = Ph, R' = 4-FC6H4 (1c); R = R' = 4-OMeC6H4 (1d); R = Ph, R' = 4-OMeC6H4 (1e); R = Ph, R' = 2-pyridyl (1f)) are prepared from the reaction of MesP(SiMe3)2 and O=CRR' in the presence of a trace of KOH or NaOH. The base-catalyzed phospha-Peterson reaction is quantitated by NMR spectroscopy, and isolated yields of phosphaalkene between 40 and 70% are obtained after vacuum distillation and/or recrystallization. The asymmetrically substituted phosphaalkenes (1c, 1e, 1f) form as 1:1 mixtures of E and Z isomers; however, X-ray crystallography reveals that the E isomers crystallize preferentially. Interestingly, E-1e and E-1f readily isomerize in solution in the dark, although the rate of isomerization is much faster when samples are exposed to light. X-ray crystal structures of 1b, E-1e, and E-1f reveal that the P=C bond lengths (average of 1.70 A) are in the long end of the range typically found in phosphaalkenes (1.61-1.71 A). Attempts to prepare isolable P-adamantyl phosphaalkenes following this route were unsuccessful. Although AdP=CPh2 (2a) is detected by 31P NMR spectroscopy, attempts to isolate this species afforded the 1,2-diphosphetane (AdPCPh2)2 (3a), which was characterized by X-ray crystallography.