Density functional study of uranyl (VI) amidoxime complexes

Uranyl (VI) amidoxime complexes are investigated using relativistic density functional theory. The equilibrium structures, bond orders, and Mulliken populations of the complexes have been systematically investigated under a generalized gradient approximation (GGA). Comparison of (acet) uranyl amidoxime complexes (UO₂(AO)_n^2-n, 1 ≤ n ≤ 4) with available experimental data shows an excellent agreement. In addition, the U-O(1), U-O(3), C(1)-N(2), and C(3)-N(4) bond lengths of UO₂(CH₃AO)₄^2- are longer than experimental data by about 0.088, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.056 Å. The angles of N(3)-O(3)-U, O(2)-N(1)-C(1), N(3)-C(3)-N(4), N(4)-C(3)-C(4), and C(4)-C(3)-N(3) are different from each other, which are due to existing interaction between oxygen in uranyl and hydrogen in amino group. This interaction is found to be intra-molecular hydrogen bond. Studies on the bond orders, Mulliken charges, and Mulliken populations demonstrate that uranyl oxo group functions as hydrogen-bond acceptors and H atoms in ligands act as hydrogen-bond donors forming hydrogen bands within the complex.