Spectroscopic and Computational Evidence of Uranium Dihydrogen Complexes

Dihydrogen complexation, a phenomenon with robust precedent in the transition metal series, is spectroscopically detected for a uranium­(III) complex and thereby extended for the first time to the 5f series. The vacant coordination site and low valence of (C5H4SiMe3)3U prove to be key to the reversible formation of (C5H4SiMe3)3U–H2 (complex 1), and the paramagnetism of the f3 center facilitates the detection of complex 1 by NMR spectroscopy. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the delocalization of the 5f electron density from (C5H4SiMe3)3U onto the side-on dihydrogen ligand is crucial to complex formation, an unusual bonding situation for an actinide acid–base complex. The spectroscopic and computational results are compared to those reported for lanthanide metallocenes to yield insight into the nature ofand future possibilities forf-element dihydrogen complexation.