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Chemist to discuss actinide reactions that produce cyclometalated complexes

A Los Alamos chemist will talk Thursday about an interesting set of reactions between one family of nitrogenous molecules and complexes of uranium and thorium.

Jaime A. Pool of Actinide, Catalysis and Separations Chemistry (C-SIC) will deliver the next talk in the Seaborg lecture series at 10:30 a.m., Thursday in the Materials Science and Technology (MST) Division Office Building Conference Room (SM-1415, Room 102) at Technical Area 3. The new office building is just east of the Materials Science Laboratory off Diamond Drive.

Pool's talk, "Unexpected Reactivity between Aromatic Nitrogenous Molecules and Organometallic Uranium(IV) and Thorium(IV) Complexes," will explore how a family of actinide compounds can effect activation of an sp2 or sp3 hybridized carbon-hydrogen bond. The family are actinide metallocene bis(alkyl) complexes, C5Me5)2AnR2 (An = U, Th; R = CH3, CH2Ph, Ph), with a variety of substituted pyridine and pyridine N-oxides.

"Slight variation in alkyl ligand or the nitrogenous reagent can lead to substantially different reaction chemistry, exhibiting C-N cleavage and/or de-aromatization of the aromatic pyridine ring in some cases," Pool said in an abstract. "Additionally, isotopic labeling studies have been performed to elucidate the mechanism of these reactions, revealing different mechanistic pathways for the analogous thorium and uranium complexes."

The lecture series, sponsored by the Glenn T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science, presents work on key topics of interest to Laboratory students and staff. The talks are open to all employees and take place at 10:30 a.m. on the last Thursday of each month. The lecture series seeks to create a forum to promote the exchange of ideas, to nucleate and exploit emerging science opportunities, and to create a focal point for collaboration in actinide science across the Laboratory.

Knowledge of actinide science continues to be essential to the United States and central to the mission of the Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Administration, including national defense, energy, environmental restoration and radioactive waste management.

More information about the lecture series and the Seaborg Institute is available from Susan Ramsay of the Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division at 5-7214, or at http://pearl1.lanl.gov/seaborg/seaborgmission.htm online.

--Jim Danneskiold

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