Investigating actinide binding behaviour with soft donor ligands through X-ray absorption spectroscopy

With the proposed studies, we aim to investigate the binding behaviour in organometallic actinide (An) complexes and thus contribute to the fundamental understanding of An coordination chemistry. Soft donor ligands have rarely been investigated for the An series, but provide deeper insights into trends of covalency and ionicity in the corresponding bonds. In continuation of previous measurements, we investigate An complexes with a phosphorus-containing isoindolin-1-one derivative (PPh2(phthal)) as (O,P)-donor ligand as well as with N-methylimidazole-2-thiolate (mt), as a further (N,S)-donor ligand system. For a detailed insight into the local electronic structure, high energy resolution fluorescence-detected X-ray absorption near edge structure (HERFD-XANES) measurements will be performed at the An M4 edges, in combination with Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS). In addition, conventional XANES spectroscopy at the ligand K-edges provides information about the metal-donor atom o