Neptunium(VII) in high-ionic-strength alkaline solutions — [NpO2(OH)4]1– or [NpO4(OH)2]3–?
Relativistic density functional theory (ZORA-PBE, COSMO solvation) is used to address the title question, based on comparison with recent experimental data ( 1 ). Structural data (bond lengths), vibrational frequencies, and 17O NMR chemical shifts are used to prove that [NpO4(OH)2]3– is the predominant species in high-ionic-strength alkaline solutions of NpVII. Neptunium(VII) complexes have stronger bonds than their formally isoelectronic uranium(VI) analogues. The experimentally observed 300 ppm shift in 17O chemical shifts between the known [UO2(OH)4]2– and NpVII solution is shown to be partly a function of the central metal (NpVII vs. UVI) and not of the coordination environment (tetraoxo vs. dioxo). Comparing, for a given An (UVI or NpVII), actinyl complexes [AnO2X4]2–/1–, X = Cl, F, OH, a decreasing strength of the axial actinyl bond is observed that is traced to electronic factors (equatorial π-competition).