Synthesis and characterization of a bimetallic americium(III) pyrithionate coordination complex.

The aqueous reaction of sodium pyrithione, (Na)mpo, with 243 AmCl 3 · n H 2 O yields a dimerized complex, [ 243 Am(mpo) 2 (μ-O-mpo)(H 2 O)] 2 ·3H 2 O. This compound is compared with isostructural lanthanide pyrithionates, where dimerization across the 4f-block is observed to be dependent upon the size of the cation. Unlike in most reported Am(III) UV-visible absorption spectra, [ 243 Am(mpo) 2 (μ-O-mpo)(H 2 O)] 2 ·3H 2 O shows significant splitting in the fingerprint excitations. This is attributed to a unique ligand-field environment, where the Am-mpo bonds possess different bonding compared to the Nd(III) analog because of increasing covalent interactions.