Ferrocene‐Based Actinide Clusters: Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Characterization

Abstract

AbstractThe polynuclear metal clusters continually attract wide interest due to their intriguing structures and potential applications in various scientific fields. Here, four actinide clusters have been synthesized by the utilization of multifunctional ligand ferrocenecarboxylic acid (HFcc) and Th4+/U4+ ions by solvent evaporation or solvothermal synthesis strategies in different solvents. Therein, compounds 1, 2 and 4 feature similar [An6(μ3‐O)4(μ3‐OH)4]12+ cores, which are further coordinated by 12 Fcc− ligands and different solvent molecules. The U6Fe12 cluster of compound 4 is linked by four free HFcc molecules via multiple hydrogen bonding to form a supramolecular cluster [U6(μ3‐O)4(μ3‐OH)4(Fcc)12(H2O)4] ⋅ 4HFcc. The cluster core of compound 3 is a μ3‐O2− bridged [U3(μ3‐O)]10+ unit, which is further coordinated by 10 Fcc− ligands via three kinds of coordination modes. It is worth noting that multifunctional Fcc− ligand not only endows compound 1 a main redox wave at E1/2=0.720 V in CH2Cl2/DMF solution, but also enables it to exhibit aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) property.