While uranyl halide complexes [UO2(halogen)n](2-n) (n = 1, 2, 4) are ubiquitous, the tricoordinate species have been relatively unknown until very recently. Here photoelectron spectroscopy and relativistic quantum chemistry are used to investigate the bonding and stability of a series of gaseous tricoordinate uranyl complexes, UO2X3(-) (X = F, Cl, Br, I). Isolated UO2X3(-) ions are produced by electrospray ionization and observed to be highly stable with very large adiabatic electron detachment energies: 6.25, 6.64, 6.27, and 5.60 eV for X = F, Cl, Br, and I, respectively. Theoretical calculations reveal that the frontier molecular orbitals are mainly of uranyl U-O bonding character in UO2F3(-), but they are from the ligand valence np lone pairs in the heavier halogen complexes. Extensive bonding analyses are carried out for UO2X3(-) as well as for the doubly charged tetracoordinate complexes (UO2X4(2-)), showing that the U-X bonds are dominated by ionic interactions with weak covalency. The U-X bond strength decreases down the periodic table from F to I. Coulomb barriers and dissociation energies of UO2X4(2-) → UO2X3(-) + X(-) are calculated, revealing that all gaseous dianions are in fact metastable. The dielectric constant of the environment is shown to be the key in controlling the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of the tetracoordinate uranyl complexes via modulation of the ligand-ligand Coulomb repulsions.

The tetraoxo pertechnetate anion (TcO4(-)) is of great interest for nuclear waste management and radiopharmceuticals. To elucidate its electronic structure and to compare with that of its lighter congener MnO4(-), the photoelectron and electronic absorption spectra of MnO4(-) and TcO4(-) are investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio wave function theory (WFT). The vertical electron detachment energies (VDEs) of MnO4(-) obtained with the CR-EOM-CCSD(T) method are in good agreement with the lowest two experimental VDEs; the differences are less than 0.1 eV, representing a significant improvement over the IP-EOM-CCSD(T) result in the literature. Combining our CCSD(T) and CR-EOM-CCSD(T) results, the first five VDEs of TcO4(-) are estimated between 5 and 10 eV with an estimated accuracy of about ±0.2 eV. The vertical excitation energies are determined by using TD-DFT, CR-EOM-CCSD(T), and RAS-PT2 methods. The excitation energies and the assignments of the spectra are analyzed and partly improved. They are compared with reported SAC-CI results and available experimental data. Both dynamic and nondynamic electron correlations are important in the ground and excited states of MnO4(-) and TcO4(-). Nondynamical correlations are particularly relevant in TcO4(-) for reliable prediction of excitation energies. In TcO4(-) one Rydberg state interlaces but does not mix with the valence excited states, and it disappears in the condensed phase.

LiF-ThF4 molten salt (MS) is the fuel for advanced MS reactors. Knowledge of the microscopic MS structure and dynamics is required for an understanding of the macroscopic physical and chemical properties of the MS phases. We have performed molecular dynamics simulations on LiF-ThF4 MS at different molar percentages (LiF/ThF4 = 20.0 to 0.5) and temperatures (1100 to 1400 K). Experimental deductions and recent theoretical results on the coordination structures and transport properties of the MS are well reproduced. The density of states of the [ThF8](4-) species and the character of the Th-F bonding are investigated. The interplay between the microscopic structures and the dynamical properties is elucidated. Corresponding to the smaller effective radius of Zr, the activation barrier of the M(4+)-F(-) dissociation and the lifetime of the first coordination shell of M(4+) are both smaller for M = Th than for M = Zr in the respective LiF-MF4 systems. The shorter Zr-F bond is stronger than the longer Th-F bond, while the coordination number of the predominant [ZrF7](3-) species is smaller than that of the dominant [ThF8](4-) species. An approximate formula is proposed for the lifetime of F(-) ions in the first solvation shell of molten MFn (M = Y, Zr, Th) in terms of the radial distribution function.

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