On the maximum bond multiplicity of carbon: unusual C≡U quadruple bonding in molecular CUO
On the maximum bond multiplicity of carbon: unusual C≡U quadruple bonding in molecular CUO
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DOI:
10.1039/c2sc20329d
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发表时间:
2012-01-01
期刊:
影响因子:
8.4
通讯作者:
Li, Jun
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Hu, Han-Shi;Qiu, Yi-Heng;Li, Jun
Carbon is known to form single, double and triple bonds. An educated search led us to a novel view on the bonding of carbon in the triatomic uranium carbide oxide molecule CUO. When comparing various empirical properties and theoretical indices of a whole set of related species, some of those molecules are best described with carbon being quadruply bonded, with the ubiquitous one sigma- and two pi-bonds, plus a non-negligible, albeit weak, rearward sigma-bond. Observable indicators of bond strength suggest a rather high C-U bond order, significantly above three for a series of CUE molecules with different electrophilic ligands E. Several orbital-based indices count only a little more than three C-U bonds, although with additional ionic bonding. The bonding in the CU unit of CUE differs from the recently claimed quadruple bonding in C-2 owing to the rich U-pfds valence shell. CUE molecules are comparatively stable units with a high nucleophilicity at the carbon end, and they may become chemically interesting intermediates, for instance in water decomposition reactions.