page_title: Uranium nitride
section_title: Uranium nitrido derivatives
hierarchical_section_title: Uranium nitride / Uranium nitrido derivatives
caption_attribution_description: English: Uranium nitrido complex [Na(12-crown-4)2][N≡U−N(CH2CH2Ntips)3] reported in: David M. King, Floriana Tuna, Eric J. L. McInnes, Jonathan McMaster, William Lewis, Alexander J. Blake, Stephen T. Liddle. Synthesis and Structure of a Terminal Uranium Nitride Complex. Science 2012, 337 (6095), 717-720. doi:10.1126/science.1223488
context_page_description: Uranium nitride is any of a family of several ceramic materials: uranium mononitride, uranium sesquinitride and uranium dinitride. The word nitride refers to the −3 oxidation state of the nitrogen bound to the uranium.
  Uranium nitride has been considered as a potential fuel for nuclear reactors. It is said to be safer, stronger, denser, more thermally conductive and having a higher temperature tolerance. Challenges to implementation of the fuel include a complex conversion route from enriched UF₆, the need to prevent oxidation during manufacturing and the need to define and license a final disposal route. The necessity to use expensive, highly isotopically enriched ¹⁵N is a significant factor to overcome. This is necessary due to the high neutron capture cross-section of the far more common ¹⁴N, which reduces the neutron economy and thus efficiency of a reactor.
context_section_description: Recently, there have been many developments in the synthesis of complexes with terminal uranium nitride (–U≡N) bonds. In addition to radioactive concerns common to all uranium chemistry, production of uranium nitrido complexes has been slowed by harsh reaction conditions and solubility challenges. Nonetheless, syntheses of such complexes have been reported in the past few years, for example the three shown below among others. Other U≡N compounds have also been synthesized or observed with various structural features, such as bridging nitride ligands in di-/polynuclear species, and various oxidation states.
caption: [Na(12-crown-4)2] [N≡U−N(CH2CH2Ntips)3][24]
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