Evidence of Alpha Radiolysis in the Formation of a Californium Nitrate Complex.

Well‐characterized complexes of transplutonium elements are scarce because of the experimental challenges of working with these elements and the rarity of the isotopes. This leads to a lack of structural and spectroscopic data needed to understand the nature of chemical bonds in these compounds. In this work, the synthesis of Cf(DOPOq)2(NO3)(py) (DOPOq=2,4,6,8‐tetra‐tert‐butyl‐1‐oxo‐1H‐phenoxazin‐9‐olate; py=pyridine) is reported, in which the nitrate anion is hypothesized to form through the α‐radiolysis‐induced reaction of pyridine and/or the ligand. Computational analysis of the electronic structure of the complex reveals that the CfIII–ligand interactions are largely ionic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]