UScC and UScNC Clusters with U-C Triple Bond Character Stabilized Inside Fullerene Cages.

The chemistry of f-block metal-carbon multiple bonds is underdeveloped compared to well-established carbene complexes of the d-block transition metals. Herein, we report two new actinide-rare earth mixed metal carbides and nitrogen carbide cluster fullerenes, UScC@(6)-C and UScNC@(6)-C, which contain U-C bonds with triple bond character and were successfully synthesized and characterized by mass spectrometry, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and DFT calculations. Crystallographic studies show that the two previously unreported clusters, UScC and UScNC, are stabilized in the (6)-C carbon cage and adopt unique trifoliate configurations, in which C/NC units are almost vertically inserted into the plane defined by the U and two Sc atoms. Combined experimental and theoretical studies further reveal the bonding structure of UScC and UScNC, which contain C═U(VI)═C and C═U(V)═N bonding motifs. The electronic structures of the two compounds are determined as U(Sc)(C)@(6)-C and U(Sc)(N)(C)@(6)-C, respectively. Quantum-chemical studies confirm that the U-C bonds in both molecules show unprecedented multicenter triple-bond character. The discovery of this unique U-C multiple bond offers a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of uranium chemistry.