Importance of energy level matching for bonding in Th(3+)-Am(3+) actinide metallocene amidinates, (C(5)Me(5))(2)[(i)PrNC(Me)N(i)Pr]An

The synthesis of a rare trivalent Th(3+) complex, (C(5)Me(5))(2)[(i)PrNC(Me)N(i)Pr]Th, initiated a density functional theory analysis on the electronic and molecular structures of trivalent actinide complexes of this type for An = Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, and Am. While the 6d orbital is found to accommodate the unpaired spin in the Th(3+) species, the next member of the series, Pa, is characterized by an f(2) ground state, and later actinides successively fill the 5f shell. In this report, we principally examine the evolution of the bonding as one advances along the actinide row. We find that the early actinides (Pa-Np) are characterized by localized f orbitals and essentially ionic bonding, whereas the f orbitals in the later members of the series (Pu, Am) exhibit significant interaction and spin delocalization into the carbon- and nitrogen-based ligand orbitals. This is perhaps counter-intuitive since the f orbital radius and hence metal-ligand overlap decreases with increasing Z, but this trend is counter-acted by the fact that the actinide contraction also leads to a stabilization of the f orbital manifold that leads to a near degeneracy between the An 5f and cyclopentadienyl π-orbitals for Pu and Am, causing a significant orbital interaction.     

Actinide sulfides in the gas phase: experimental and theoretical studies of the thermochemistry of AnS (An = Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm)

The gas-phase thermochemistry of actinide monosulfides, AnS, was investigated experimentally and theoretically. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry was employed to study the reactivity of An(+) and AnO(+) (An = Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm) with CS(2) and COS, as well as the reactivity of the produced AnS(+) with oxidants (COS, CO(2), CH(2)O and NO). From these experiments, An(+)-S bond dissociation energies could be bracketed. Density functional theory studies of the energetics of neutral and monocationic AnS (An = Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm) provided values for bond dissociation energies and ionization energies; the computed energetics of neutral and monocationic AnO were also obtained for comparison. The theoretical data, together with comparisons with known An(+)-O bond dissociation energies and M(+)-S and M(+)-O dissociation energies for the early transition metals, allowed for the refining of the An(+)-S bond dissociation energy ranges obtained from experiment. Examination of the reactivity of AnS(+) with dienes, coupled to comparisons with reactivities of the AnO(+) analogues, systematic considerations and the theoretical results, allowed for the estimation of the ionization energies of the AnS; the bond dissociation energies of neutral AnS were consequently derived. Estimates for the case of AcS were also made, based on correlations of the data for the other An and the electronic energetics of neutral and ionic An. The nature of the bonding in the elementary molecular actinide chalcogenides (oxides and sulfides) is discussed, based on both the experimental data and the computed electronic structures. DFT calculations of ionization energies for the actinide atoms and the diatomic sulfides and oxides are relatively reliable, but the calculation of bond dissociation energies is not uniformly satisfactory, either with DFT or CCSD(T). A key conclusion from both the experimental and theoretical results is that the 5f electrons do not substantially participate in actinide-sulfur bonding. We emphasize that actinides form strikingly strong bonds with both oxygen and sulfur.     

Maximum filling principle and sublattices of actinide atoms in crystal structures

The most important characteristics of the Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra (VDP) of A atoms (A is actinide) in chemically homogeneous sublattices in the crystal structures of 3479 inorganic, coordination, and organometallic compounds are determined. The effect of the actinide nature on the A-A interatomic distances in the crystal structures is considered. In the Th, U, Np, or Pu sublattices, VDP have most often 14 faces and the Fedorov cuboctahedron is the most abundant type of VDP, whereas in Ac, Pa, Am, Cm, Bk, or Cf sublattices, the VDP have mainly 12 faces and are shaped like rhomobododecahedra. In A sublattices that typically form VDP with 14 faces, the actinide atoms occupy, most often, sites with C ₁ symmetry (47 to 59% of the sample size). In the case of actinides whose A sublattices tend to form VDP with 12 faces, the C ₁ site symmetry is found either very rarely (Pa, Am, Cf) or not at all (Ac, Cm, Bk).     

Oxidation studies of dipositive actinide ions, An2+ (An = Th, U, Np, Pu, Am) in the gas phase: synthesis and characterization of the isolated uranyl, neptunyl, and plutonyl ions UO2(2+)(g), NpO2(2+)(g), and PuO2(2+)(g)

Reactions of atomic and ligated dipositive actinide ions, An2+, AnO2+, AnOH2+, and AnO2(2+) (An = Th, U, Np, Pu, Am) were systematically studied by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Kinetics were measured for reactions with the oxidants, N2O, C2H4O (ethylene oxide), H2O, O2, CO2, NO, and CH2O. Each of the five An2+ ions reacted with one or more of these oxidants to produce AnO2+, and reacted with H2O to produce AnOH2+. The measured pseudo-first-order reaction rate constants, k, revealed disparate reaction efficiencies, k/k(COL): Th2+ was generally the most reactive and Am2+ the least. Whereas each oxidant reacted with Th2+ to give ThO2+, only C2H4O oxidized Am2+ to AmO2+. The other An2+ exhibited intermediate reactivities. Based on the oxidation reactions, bond energies and formation enthalpies were derived for the AnO2+, as were second ionization energies for the monoxides, IE[AnO+]. The bare dipositive actinyl ions, UO2(2+), NpO2(2+), and PuO2(2+), were produced from the oxidation of the corresponding AnO2+ by N2O, and by O2 in the cases of UO2+ and NpO2+. Thermodynamic properties were derived for these three actinyls, including enthalpies of formation and electron affinities. It is concluded that bare UO2(2+), NpO2(2+), and PuO2(2+) are thermodynamically stable toward Coulomb dissociation to [AnO+ + O+] or [An+ + O2+]. It is predicted that bare AmO2(2+) is thermodynamically stable. In accord with the expected instability of Th(VI), ThO(2+) was not oxidized to ThO2(2+) by any of the seven oxidants. The gas-phase results are compared with the aqueous thermochemistry. Hydration enthalpies were derived here for uranyl and plutonyl; our deltaH(hyd)[UO2(2+)] is substantially more negative than the previously reported value, but is essentially the same as our deltaH(hyd)[PuO2(2+)].     

Sequential determination of Am, Cm, Pu, Np and U by extraction chromatography

Environmental contamination by artificial radionuclides and the evaluation of their sources require precise isotopic analysis and accurate determination of actinide elements above all plutonium and americium. These can be achieved by alpha spectrometry or by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after chemical separation. In the present work, a simple, rapid method has been developed for the sequential separation of actinide elements from aqueous solutions and their determination by alpha spectrometry. Extraction chromatography was applied to the separation of ²⁴¹Am, ²⁴⁴Cm, ^{239 + 240,238}Pu, ²³⁷Np and ^238,235,234U using microporous polyethylene supporting tri-n-octylamine as the stationary phase and hydrochloric acid with and without reducing agents as the mobile phase. Actinide in 9 M HCl solution is introduced into the anion exchange column; Pu (IV), Np (IV) and U(VI) are retained on the column while Am (III) and Cm passed through. Pu is eluted first, reductively, after which, Np and then U are eluted. The method can be applied to all aqueous solutions which do not contain strong complexing or precipitation agents for the elements considered.     

Fundamental Research on Actinide Materials for Sustainable Fuel Cycles in JAEA

The fundamental research on actinide materials has been carried out in order to contribute to the development of future nuclear fuel cycle and actinide science database. Among actinide materials, the R&D has been focused on Pu and minor actinide (MA; Np, Am, Cm) bearing compounds. The chemical forms of actinide compounds concerned include oxides, nitrides, chlorides and alloys, which are prepared, characterized and subjected to property measurements. In this paper those results on Pu and MA bearing oxides obtained in recent several years are summarized. In addition, the possible challenges of actinide materials research to the subjects of post severe accident of Fukushima-daiich nuclear power station are briefly discussed.     

Method for multi-element alpha-spectrometry of actinides and its application to environmental radioactivity studies

A method is proposed for measuring simultaneously several actinide elements by alpha-spectrometry. The actinides in sample solutions are sorbed together on an anion-exchange column from a nitric acid-methanol mixture. After simultaneous elution and electroplating on a disc, the actinides are determined by alpha-spectrometry. Radiochemical yields of the procedure for Th, U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm are better than 50%, all falling within a range of +/- 5%. Examples of the application of this method to various marine environmental samples such as sea-water, seaweed and marine sediment are presented.     

Gas-phase transuranium chemistry: reactions of actinide ions with alcohols and thiols.

The laser ablation with prompt reaction and detection method was employed to provide a survey of some gas-phase reactions of actinide (M = U, Np, Pu and Am) and lanthanide (M = Tb and Tm) ions, M(+) and MO(1,2)(+), with alcohols, thiols and ethers. Particular attention was given the changing behavior in progressing across the actinide series beyond uranium. With alcohols, ROH, major products included hydroxides and alkoxides, M(OH)(1,2)(+), M(OR)(1,2)(+), MO(OH)(+) and MO(OR)(+); these products are presumed to have resulted from RO&bond;H and R&bond;OH bond cleavage by ablated M(+) and MO(+). The abundance distributions for these elementary products reflected the decrease in stabilities of high oxidation states between U and Am. Other alcohol reaction products included electrostatically bonded adducts, such as HO&bond;Np(+)ellipsisC(3)H(7)OH, sigma-bonded organometallics, such as HO&bond;Pu(+)&bond;C(2)H(5), and pi-bonded organometallics, such as Np(+)&bond;eta(3)-?C(3)H(5)?. In view of the inability of actinide and lanthanide ions to dehydrogenate alkanes, the exhibition of dehydrogenation of the alkyl chain of alcohols, as in HO-Pu(+)-C(3)H(5)O from propanol, suggests a non-insertion mechanism involving complexation of the reactant ion to the alcohol. Whereas O abstraction products from ROH were obfuscated by directly ablated MO(1,2)(+), S abstraction from thiols, RSH, was manifested by the appearance of MS(+), MS(2)(+) and MOS(+). In analogy with OH abstraction from alcohols to produce metal hydroxides, SH abstraction from thiols resulted in hydrosulfides, including Am(SH)(+) and Np(SH)(2)(+). In addition to several other reaction pathways with the thiol reagents, products presumed to be thiolates included Am(C(3)H(7)S)(+) and NpO(C(3)H(7)S) from propanethiol. A primary product of reaction with dimethyl ether were methoxides resulting from C--O bond cleavage, including Am(OCH(3))(+) and Np(OCH(3))(2)(+). With methyl vinyl ether, more complex pathways were exhibited, most of which corresponded to the elimination of stable organic molecules. An ancillary result was the discovery of several small oxide clusters, Am(2)O(n)(+), Np(2)O(n)(+) and AmNpO(n)(+). The compositions and abundance distributions of these clusters reflected the propensity of Np to exist in higher oxidation states than Am; the dominant binary clusters were Am(2)O(2)(+) and Np(2)O(3)(+).     

The EURO-GANEX Process: Current Status of Flowsheet Development and Process Safety Studies

A new hydrometallurgical grouped actinide extraction process has been developed to separate the transuranic actinide ions from dissolved spent fuel solution (after an initial uranium extraction cycle). This “EURO-GANEX” process is aimed towards the homogeneous recycling of plutonium and minor actinides in a future closed fuel cycle. The separation process is based on the co-extraction of actinides and lanthanides from aqueous nitric acid into an organic phase followed by selective co-stripping of actinides. A suitable organic phase has been formulated and distribution ratios determined for lanthanides, actinides and some problematic fission products under extraction and stripping conditions. The process flowsheet has been proven on surrogate feed solutions as well as with spent fast reactor fuel; excellent recoveries of the actinides and good decontamination factors from the lanthanides and other fission products were obtained. A variation on the EURO-GANEX flowsheet (the “TRU-SANEX” process) has now been designed to produce separate Pu+Np and Am+Cm products for heterogeneous recycling. Progress on underpinning process chemistry and safety studies as well as flowsheet tests are summarized.     

Sequential separation of actinides by ion chromatography coupled with on-line scintillation detection

The separation and measurement of actinides by ion chromatography (IC) coupled with on-line scintillation detection was investigated. Separation of (237)Np, (239)Pu, (241)Am, (244)Cm, (230)Th, and (233)U was accomplished using a Dionex CG5 guard column, CS5 separation column, and an elution program utilizing oxalic, diglycolic, and nitric acid eluents. Np(V) was eluted as a weak anionic oxalate complex or as free NpO(2)(+) cation, Am(III) and Cm(III) as anionic oxalate complexes, Pu(IV) and Th(IV) as nonionic diglycolate complexes, and U(VI) as a free uranyl cation. Response of the flow-cell detector was linear over the full range of activities tested (4-1500 Bq). The minimum detectable activities for the investigated analytes ranged from 3.6 Bq for (244)Cm to 5.4 Bq for (230)Th and (239)Pu. The corresponding minimum detectable concentrations based on a 1-L sample ranged from 3.6 to 5.4 KBq m(-3) (96 to 150 pCi L(-1)).     

An improved actinide separation method for environmental samples

This paper presents a rapid method of separation of five actinide elements (Th, U, Np, Pu, and Am) for aqueous media samples. This separation method utilizes the unique chemistries of the actinides at low concentrations^1,2 and the properties of the EIChroM TRU-Resin^TM extraction resin. In order to cleanly recover the five actinides from aqueous samples or solubilized soil samples, the sample is passed through the column twice. The sample is first loaded in an HCl solution with hydrogen peroxide. This allows the Am and most matrix ions to pass through the column. Then the Th is eluted using dilute HCl followed by the Np and Pu which are eluted together with oxalic acid in dilute HCl solution. Finally, the U is eluted with ammonium oxalate solution. A calcium-oxalate coprecipitation is performed on the original load solution containing the Am ions and the dissolved precipitate is then reloaded onto the TRU-Resin^TM column in HNO₃ with ascorbic acid. The procedure requires approximately 1.5 working days for experienced technicians, greatly reduces waste, and generally results in actinide recoveries of 80–100%.     

Simultaneous electrodeposition of actinides

A new system for simultaneous electrodeposition of U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm has been developed. The system consists of (NH₄)₂C₂O₄–H₂SO₄–HCl. The effects on recovery of pH, current density, interfering ions and the amount of added HCl have been studied. The optimum condition for simultaneous electrodeposition of actinides has been recommended. Under the recommended condition recoveries of U, Np, Pu, Am and Cm have been obtained by using²³²U,²³⁷Np,²⁴¹Am,²⁴²Pu and²⁴⁴Cm. The counting sources prepared are uniform, adherent and suitable for -spectrometry.     

Reactions of actinide ions with ethylene oxide

Naked and oxo-ligated actinide (An) monopositive ions were reacted with ethylene oxide, cyclo-C(2)H(4)O (EtO). Along with An = U, Np, Pu and Am, ions of two lanthanide (Ln) elements, Ln = Tb and Tm, were studied for comparison. Metal and metal oxide ions, M(+), MO(+) and MO(2)(+), were generated by laser ablation and immediately reacted with EtO. Unreacted and product ions were detected by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It was apparent that the overall reaction cross-sections decreased in the order U(+) > or = Np(+) > Pu(+) > Am(+). A primary reaction channel for each studied metal was the formation of MO(+) from M(+), in accord with the expected exothermicity of oxygen abstraction from EtO. For U, Np and Pu, the dioxides were also major products, indicating OAn(+)--O dissociation energies of at least 350 kJ mol(-1), the energy required for O-atom abstraction from EtO. For Am, Tb and Tm, the dioxides were only very minor products, reflecting the stabilities of the trivalent states and resistance to oxidation to higher valence states; the structures/bonding in these MO(2)(+) are intriguing given that the formal pentavalent bonding state is effectively unattainable. It was demonstrated that EtO, unlike more thermochemically favorable but kinetically restricted O-donors, is effective at achieving facile oxidation of actinide metal ions to the monoxide, and to the dioxide if the second O-abstraction reaction is exothermic. Several intriguing minor products were also identified, most of which incorporate metal--oxygen bonding and are attributed to the oxophilicity of the f-block elements; the contrast to the behavior of first-row d-block transition elements is striking in this regard. Particularly noteworthy was the formation of MH(4)(+) (and MOH(4)(+)), evidently via abstraction of all four H atoms from a single C(2)H(4)O molecule; the structures/bonding in these novel 'hydride' species are indeterminate and warrant further attention.     

Differentiating between trivalent lanthanides and actinides

The reactions of LnCl(3) with molten boric acid result in the formation of Ln[B(4)O(6)(OH)(2)Cl] (Ln = La-Nd), Ln(4)[B(18)O(25)(OH)(13)Cl(3)] (Ln = Sm, Eu), or Ln[B(6)O(9)(OH)(3)] (Ln = Y, Eu-Lu). The reactions of AnCl(3) (An = Pu, Am, Cm) with molten boric acid under the same conditions yield Pu[B(4)O(6)(OH)(2)Cl] and Pu(2)[B(13)O(19)(OH)(5)Cl(2)(H(2)O)(3)], Am[B(9)O(13)(OH)(4)]·H(2)O, or Cm(2)[B(14)O(20)(OH)(7)(H(2)O)(2)Cl]. These compounds possess three-dimensional network structures where rare earth borate layers are joined together by BO(3) and/or BO(4) groups. There is a shift from 10-coordinate Ln(3+) and An(3+) cations with capped triangular cupola geometries for the early members of both series to 9-coordinate hula-hoop geometries for the later elements. Cm(3+) is anomalous in that it contains both 9- and 10-coordinate metal ions. Despite these materials being synthesized under identical conditions, the two series do not parallel one another. Electronic structure calculations with multireference, CASSCF, and density functional theory (DFT) methods reveal the An 5f orbitals to be localized and predominately uninvolved in bonding. For the Pu(III) borates, a Pu 6p orbital is observed with delocalized electron density on basal oxygen atoms contrasting the Am(III) and Cm(III) borates, where a basal O 2p orbital delocalizes to the An 6d orbital. The electronic structure of the Ce(III) borate is similar to the Pu(III) complexes in that the Ce 4f orbital is localized and noninteracting, but the Ce 5p orbital shows no interaction with the coordinating ligands. Natural bond orbital and natural population analyses at the DFT level illustrate distinctive larger Pu 5f atomic occupancy relative to Am and Cm 5f, as well as unique involvement and occupancy of the An 6d orbitals.     

Computed vibrational frequencies of actinide oxides AnO(0/+/2+) and AnO2(0/+/2+) (An = Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, Cm)

The vibrational frequencies of the actinide oxides AnO and AnO(2) (An = Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, Cm) and of their mono- and dications have been calculated using advanced quantum chemical techniques. The stretching fundamental frequencies of the monoxides have been determined by fitting the potential function to single-point energies obtained by relativistic CASPT2 calculations along the stretching coordinate and on this basis solving numerically the ro-vibrational Schro?dinger equation. To obtain reliable fundamental frequencies of the dioxides, we developed an empirical approach. In this approach the harmonic vibrational frequencies of the AnO(2)(0/+/2+) species were calculated using eight different exchange-correlation DFT functionals. On the basis of the good correlation found between the vibrational frequencies and computed bond distances, the final frequency values were derived for the CASPT2 reference bond distances from linear regression equations fitted to the DFT data of each species. As a test, the approach provided excellent agreement with accurate experimental data of ThO, ThO(+), UO, and UO(+). The joint analysis of literature experimental and our computed data facilitated the prediction of reliable gas-phase molecular properties for some oxides. They include the stretching frequencies of PuO, ThO(2), UO(2), and UO(2)(+) and the bond distance of PuO (1.818 ?, being likely within 0.002 ? of the real value). Also the derived equilibrium bond distances of ThO(2), UO(2), and UO(2)(+) (1.896, 1.790, and 1.758 ?, respectively) should approximate closely the (yet unknown) experimental values. On the basis of the present results, we suggest that the ground electronic state of PuO(2) in Ar and Kr matrices is probably different from that in the gaseous phase, similarly to UO(2) observed previously.     

Energetics and mechanisms of C-H bond activation by a doubly charged metal ion: guided ion beam and theoretical studies of Ta2+ + CH4

A guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer is used to study the kinetic-energy dependence of doubly charged atomic tantalum cations (Ta(2+)) reacting with CH4 and CD4. As for the analogous singly charged system, the dehydrogenation reaction to form TaCH2(2+) + H2 is exothermic. The charge-transfer reaction to form Ta(+) + CH4(+) and the charge-separation reaction to form TaH(+) + CH3(+) are also observed at low energies in exothermic processes, as is a secondary reaction of TaCH2(2+) to form TaCH3(+) + CH3(+). At higher energies, other doubly charged products, TaC(2+) and TaCH3(2+), are observed, although no formation of TaH(2+) was observed. Modeling of the endothermic cross sections provides 0 K bond dissociation energies (in electronvolts) of D0(Ta(2+)-C) = 5.42 +/- 0.19 and D0(Ta(2+)-CH3) = 3.40 +/- 0.16. These experimental bond energies are in poor agreement with density functional calculations at the B3LYP/HW+/6-311++G(3df,3p) level of theory. However, the Ta(2+)-C bond energy is in good agreement with calculations at the QCISD(T) level of theory, and the Ta(2+)-CH3 bond energy is in good agreement with density functional calculations at the BHLYP level of theory. Theoretical calculations reveal the geometric and electronic structures of all product ions and are used to map the potential energy surface, which describes the mechanism of the reaction and key intermediates. Both experimental and theoretical results suggest that TaH(+), TaCH2(2+), and TaCH3(2+) are formed through a H-Ta(2+)-CH3 intermediate.     

Critical role of water content in the formation and reactivity of uranium, neptunium, and plutonium iodates under hydrothermal conditions: implications for the oxidative dissolution of spent nuclear fuel

The reactions of 237NpO2 with excess iodate under acidic hydrothermal conditions result in the isolation of the neptunium(IV), neptunium(V), and neptunium(VI) iodates, Np(IO3)4, Np(IO3)4.nH2O.nHIO3, NpO2(IO3), NpO2(IO3)2(H2O), and NpO2(IO3)2.H2O, depending on both the pH and the amount of water present in the reactions. Reactions with less water and lower pH favor reduced products. Although the initial redox processes involved in the reactions between 237NpO2 or 242PuO2 and iodate are similar, the low solubility of Pu(IO3)4 dominates product formation in plutonium iodate reactions to a much greater extent than does Np(IO3)4 in the neptunium iodate system. UO2 reacts with iodate under these conditions to yield uranium(VI) iodates solely. The isotypic structures of the actinide(IV) iodates, An(IO3)4 (An=Np, Pu), are reported and consist of one-dimensional chains of dodecahedral An(IV) cations bridged by iodate anions. The structure of Np(IO3)4.nH2O.nHIO3 is constructed from NpO9 tricapped-trigonal prisms that are bridged by iodate into a polar three-dimensional framework structure. Second-harmonic-generation measurements on a polycrystalline sample of the Th analogue of Np(IO3)4.nH2O.nHIO3 reveal a response of approximately 12x that of alpha-SiO2. Single-crystal magnetic susceptibility measurements of Np(IO3)4 show magnetically isolated Np(IV) ions.     

Sequential separation of transuranic elements and fission products from uranium metal ingots in electrolytic reduction process of spent PWR fuels

A sequential separation procedure has been developed for the determination of transuranic elements and fission products in uranium metal ingot samples from an electrolytic reduction process for a metallization of uranium dioxide to uranium metal in a medium of LiCl-Li₂O molten salt at 650 °C. Pu, Np and U were separated using anion-exchange and tri-n-butylphosphate (TBP) extraction chromatography. Cs, Sr, Ba, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Zr and Mo were separated in several groups from Am and Cm using TBP and di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP) extraction chromatography. Effect of Fe, Ni, Cr and Mg, which were corrosion products formed through the process, on the separation of the analytes was investigated in detail. The validity of the separation procedure was evaluated by measuring the recovery of the stable metals and ²³⁹Pu, ²³⁷Np, ²⁴¹Am and ²⁴⁴Cm added to a synthetic uranium metal ingot dissolved solution.     

Gas-phase reactions of the bare Th2+ and U2+ ions with small alkanes, CH4, C2H6, and C3H8: experimental and theoretical study of elementary organoactinide chemistry

The gas-phase reactions of two dipositive actinide ions, Th(2+) and U(2+), with CH(4), C(2)H(6), and C(3)H(8) were studied by both experiment and theory. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry was employed to study the bimolecular ion-molecule reactions; the potential energy profiles (PEPs) for the reactions, both observed and nonobserved, were computed by density functional theory (DFT). The experiments revealed that Th(2+) reacts with all three alkanes, including CH(4) to produce ThCH(2)(2+), whereas U(2+) reacts with C(2)H(6) and C(3)H(8), with different product distributions than for Th(2+). The comparative reactivities of Th(2+) and U(2+) toward CH(4) are well explained by the computed PEPs. The PEPs for the reactions with C(2)H(6) effectively rationalize the observed reaction products, ThC(2)H(2)(2+) and UC(2)H(4)(2+). For C(3)H(8) several reaction products were experimentally observed; these and additional potential reaction pathways were computed. The DFT results for the reactions with C(3)H(8) are consistent with the observed reactions and the different products observed for Th(2+) and U(2+); however, several exothermic products which emerge from energetically favorable PEPs were not experimentally observed. The comparison between experiment and theory reveals that DFT can effectively exclude unfavorable reaction pathways, due to energetic barriers and/or endothermic products, and can predict energetic differences in similar reaction pathways for different ions. However, and not surprisingly, a simple evaluation of the PEP features is insufficient to reliably exclude energetically favorable pathways. The computed PEPs, which all proceed by insertion, were used to evaluate the relationship between the energetics of the bare Th(2+) and U(2+) ions and the energies for C-H and C-C activation. It was found that the computed energetics for insertion are entirely consistent with the empirical model which relates insertion efficiency to the energy needed to promote the An(2+) ion from its ground state to a prepared divalent state with two non-5f valence electrons (6d(2)) suitable for bond formation in C-An(2+)-H and C-An(2+)-C activated intermediates.     

Investigation on C2-ceramide complexes with transition metal ions using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) is applied for the investigation of C(2)-ceramide complexes with transition metal ions. Ceramide plays an important role in the regulation of various signaling pathways leading to proliferation, differentiation or apoptotic cell death. The formation and fragmentation of doubly charged cluster ions as well as singly charged cluster ions of C(2)-ceramide with transition metal ions (Mn(2+), Fe(2+), Co(2+) and Ni(2+)) are studied by ESI-MS/MS in the positive mode. Tube lens offset voltage and concentrations of C(2)-ceramide and transition metals are optimized to determine the best conditions for generating doubly charged cluster ions. The fragmentation pathways of metal ion complexes with C(2)-ceramide and the compositions of these complexes are determined by collision induced dissociation (CID). All transition metal ions (Mn(2+), Fe(2+), Co(2+) and Ni(2+) except Cu(2+)) shows similar complexation with C(2) ceramide. The unique complexation behavior of copper(II) is responsible for the different geometry of the complexes and relatively lower affinity of ceramide to copper(II) than those to other transition metals.