Structural variation in organically templated uranium sulfate fluorides

Abstract

The ability of templated uranium sulfate fluorides to adopt diverse inorganic architectures is demonstrated in six novel materials. The inorganic structures present in [N₂C₆H₁₆][UO₂F₂(SO₄)] (USFO-2), [N₂C₆H₁₆][UO₂F(SO₄)]₂ (USFO-3), [N₂C₃H₁₂][UO₂F(SO₄)]₂·H₂O (USFO-4), [N₂C₅H₁₄][UO₂F(H₂O)(SO₄]₂ (USFO-5), [N₂C₆H₁₈]₂[UO₂F(SO₄)]₄·H₂O (USFO-6) and [N₂C₃H₁₂][UO₂F(SO₄)]₂·H₂O (USFO-7) range from infinite chains to five different layer topologies. The chain, and two of the five layers, have unprecedented structure types. These compounds illustrate the structural diversity within this new family of materials, arising from the varied coordination of the U⁶⁺ centres. Each material was synthesised under hydrothermal conditions, through reaction of uranyl acetate, sulfuric acid, HF_(aq), water, and the respective organic template.