Uranyl Coordination in Ionic Liquids: The Competition between Ionic Liquid Anions, Uranyl Counterions, and Cl- Anions Investigated by Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure and UV−Visible Spectroscopies and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

TLDR: The first coordination sphere of the uranyl cation in room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) results from the competition between its initially bound counterions, the IL anions, and other anions (e.g., present as impurities or added to the solution).

Abstract: The first coordination sphere of the uranyl cation in room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) results from the competition between its initially bound counterions, the IL anions, and other anions (e.g., present as impurities or added to the solution). We present a joined spectroscopic (UV−visible and extended X-ray absorption fine structure)-simulation study of the coordination of uranyl initially introduced either as UO2X2 salts (X- = nitrate NO3-, triflate TfO-, perchlorate ClO4-) or as UO2(SO4) in a series of imidazolium-based ILs (C4mimA, A- = PF6-, Tf2N-, BF4- and C4mim = 1-methyl-3-butyl-imidazolium) as well as in the Me3NBuTf2N IL. The solubility and dissociation of the uranyl salts are found to depend on the nature of X- and A-. The addition of Cl- anions promotes the solubilization of the nitrate and triflate salts in the C4mimPF6 and the C4mimBF4 ILs via the formation of chloro complexes, also formed with other salts. The first coordination sphere of uranyl is further investigated by molecular dyna...