Innovative X-ray technique, supported by theoretical calculations, sheds light on actinide bonding properties.
In a recent Nature Communications paper, the authors reported the development of a novel spectroscopic method to analyze actinide coordination compounds, providing unprecedented insights into their electronic structures and bonding properties. Using M4-edge resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), they demonstrated that previously overlooked spectral features in high-energy resolution signals reliably reveal the number of localized 5f electrons in actinide compounds.
Theoretical calculations have played a crucial role in interpreting the experimental data. Example: Ligand-field Density-Function Theory (LFDFT) calculations with AMS were carried out for deciphering the measured RIXS signals and confirming their connection to actinide electronic configurations.
See also: Ligand-Field DFT webinar.
Bianca Schacherl, Michelangelo Tagliavini, Hanna Kaufmann-Heimeshoff, Jörg Göttlicher, Marinella Mazzanti, Karin Popa, Olaf Walter, Tim Pruessmann, Christian Vollmer, Aaron Beck, Ruwini S. K. Ekanayake, Jacob A. Branson, Thomas Neill, David Fellhauer, Cedric Reitz, Dieter Schild, Dominique Brager, Christopher Cahill, Cory Windorff, Thomas Sittel, Harry Ramanantoanina, Maurits W. Haverkort & Tonya Vitova. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering tools to count 5 f electrons of actinides and probe bond covalency. Nat Commun 16, 1221 (2025).
