Actinide Pnictinidene Chemistry: A Terminal Thorium Parent-Arsinidene Complex Stabilised by a Super-Bulky Triamidoamine Ligand

We report the direct synthesis of the terminal pnictidenes [An(Tren(TCHS))(PnH)][M(2,2,2-cryptand)] (Tren(TCHS)={N(CH2CH2NSiCy3)(3)}(3-); An/Pn/M=Th/P/Na 5, Th/As/K 6, U/P/Na 7, U/As/K 8) and their conversion to the pnictides [An(Tren(TCHS))(PnH(2))] (An/Pn=Th/P 9, Th/As 10, U/P 11, U/As 12). Use of the super-bulky Tren(TCHS) ligand was essential to accessing complete families, and 6 is an unprecedented example of a terminal thorium-arsinidene complex and only the second structurally authenticated parent terminal arsinidene complex of any metal. Comparison of the terminal Th=AsH unit of 6 to the bridging ThAs(H)K linkage in structurally analogous [Th(Tren(TIPS)){mu-As(H)K(15-crown-5)}] (Tren(TIPS)={N(CH2CH2NSiPr3i)(3)}(3-)) reveals a stronger Th-As bond in the former compared to the latter, and a large response overall to the nature of the Th=AsH bonding upon removal of the electrostatically-bound K-ion; the sigma-bond changes little but the pi-bond is significantly perturbed.

Automated summary

The study reports the direct synthesis of terminal pnictidenes and their conversion to pnictides, highlighting the importance of the super-bulky Tren(TCHS) ligand. The findings provide valuable insights into thorium-arsenic bonding.