A series of dithiocarbamates for americium, curium, and californium

Abstract

Characterizing how actinide properties change across the f-element series is critical for improving predictive capabilities and solving many nuclear problems facing our society. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make direct comparisons across the 5f-element series because so little is known about trans-plutonium elements. Results described herein help to address this issue through isolation of An(S₂CNEt₂)₃(N₂C₁₂H₈) (Am, Cm, and Cf). These findings included the first single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements of Cm–S (mean of 2.86 ± 0.04 Å) and Cf–S (mean of 2.84 ± 0.04 Å) bond distances. Furthermore, they highlight the potential of An(S₂CNEt₂)₃(N₂C₁₂H₈) for providing a test bed for comparative analyses of actinide versus lanthanide bonding interactions.