Isolation of the Large {Actinide}₃₈ Poly-oxo Cluster with Uranium

By controlling the water content, a new poly-oxo-metalate species containing 38 uranium centers has been solvothermally synthesized in the presence of benzoic acid in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The {U₃₈} motif contains a distorted UO₂ core of fluorite type, stabilized by benzoate and THF molecules. This compound is analogous to the {Pu₃₈} motif and was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magnetic analyses.