Ionothermal Synthesis of Am4B22O42Cl12: A Chiral Cubic Americium Borate Cluster

Travis K Deason; Matthias A Grasser; Amir Mofrad; Jake Amoroso; David P DiPrete; Gregory Morrison; Hunter B Tisdale; Perry J Pellechia; Shanna L Estes; Mark D Smith; Theodore M Besmann; Hans-Conrad Zur Loye

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c05455

Ionothermal Synthesis of Am₄B₂₂O₄₂Cl₁₂: A Chiral Cubic Americium Borate Cluster

Inorg Chem. 2025 Jan 24. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c05455. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Travis K Deason^{1

2

3}, Matthias A Grasser^{1

2}, Amir Mofrad^{1

4}, Jake Amoroso^{1

3}, David P DiPrete^{1

3}, Gregory Morrison^{1

2}, Hunter B Tisdale^{1

2}, Perry J Pellechia², Shanna L Estes⁵, Mark D Smith², Theodore M Besmann^{1

4}, Hans-Conrad Zur Loye^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Hierarchical Waste Form Materials, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
³ Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina 29803, United States.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
⁵ Department of Chemistry and Center for Nuclear Environmental Engineering Sciences and Radioactive Waste Management, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States.

PMID: 39856024
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c05455

Abstract

Ionic liquids were used as low temperature solvents for the synthesis of new lanthanide and transuranic-element (TRU) borate cluster structures. Ionothermal synthesis with the ionic liquid [BMIm]Cl (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) yielded the La, Nd, and Am containing phases La₄B₂₂O₄₂Cl₁₂, Nd₄B₂₂O₄₂Cl₁₂, and Am₄B₂₂O₄₂Cl₁₂. The structures of the La, Nd, and Am borate clusters were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) and found to be cubic, in the chiral space group I23. Solid state NMR and Raman spectra confirm the structure descriptions. This represents the first ionothermal synthesis of an americium containing cluster compound, and the study of such low-temperature methods benefit work on TRU materials.