Multifaceted Modularity: A Key for Stepwise Building of Hierarchical Complexity in Actinide Metal–Organic Frameworks

Growing necessity for efficient nuclear waste management is a driving force for development of alternative architectures toward fundamental understanding of mechanisms involved in actinide (An) integration inside extended structures. In this manuscript, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) were investigated as a model system for engineering radionuclide containing materials through utilization of unprecedented MOF modularity, which cannot be replicated in any other type of materials. Through the implementation of recent synthetic advances in the MOF field, hierarchical complexity of An-materials was built stepwise, which was only feasible due to preparation of the first examples of actinide-based frameworks with “unsaturated” metal nodes. The first successful attempts of solid-state metathesis and metal node extension in An-MOFs are reported, and the results of the former approach revealed drastic differences in chemical behavior of extended structures versus molecular species. Successful utilization of MOF modularity also allowed us to structurally characterize the first example of bimetallic An–An nodes. To the best of our knowledge, through combination of solid-state metathesis, guest incorporation, and capping linker installation, we were able to achieve the highest Th wt % in mono- and biactinide frameworks with minimal structural density. Overall, the combination of a multistep synthetic approach with homogeneous actinide distribution and moderate solvothermal conditions could make MOFs an exceptionally powerful tool to address fundamental questions responsible for chemical behavior of An-based extended structures and, therefore, shed light on possible optimization of nuclear waste administration.