Structure of early actinides(V) in acidic solutions

Protactinium occupies a key position in the actinide series between thorium and uranium. In aqueous acidic solution, it is stable at oxidation state (V), occurring either as an oxocation or as a naked ion, depending on the media. Very few structural information on the hydration sphere of Pa(V) in acidic medium is available, in particular in hydrofluoric acid. Combined EXAFS and theoretical calculations have been used in this work to characterize the protactinium coordination sphere at various HF concentrations. The correlation of the XAFS data with quantum chemical calculations provides complementary structural and electronic models from ab initio techniques. At HF concentrations from 0.5 to 0.05 M, both theoretical calculations and EXAFS data suggest that the protactinium coordination sphere is mainly composed of fluoride ions. At the lowest HF concentration, the occurrence of a monooxo bond is observed with EXAFS, in agreement with the literature. A comparison of these data with related neptunium(V) and plutonium(V) diooxocations in perchloric acid is also presented.