Search

Uranium oxo groups are very inert, in contrast with many transition metal oxo compounds that can carry out reactions that are difficult to achieve with other reagents. Now, the controlled lithiation of a ‘Pacman’ complex is shown to activate the uranium oxo group towards functionalization and single electron transfer.

The reasons for which many low-coordinate complexes exhibit bent geometry, rather than a higher symmetry, are still under debate. Here, the authors use high-pressure crystallography to examine whether low-coordinate f-block molecules become more planar or pyramidal under pressure; which happens is dictated by the dipole moment of the complex and the volume of the planar form.

The oxo groups in the common trans-uranyl ion — present in the majority of known uranium compounds — are linear and inert. Now, a new reduced binuclear uranium–dioxo compound with very strong metal coupling and remarkable air stability has been formed through oxo migration and silylation.

Probing the chemistry of transuranic elements is notoriously challenging. Now, three neptunium(III) organometallic sandwich complexes have been prepared using a flexible macrocycle as ligand, and their molecular and electronic structures characterized, adding to our understanding of the behaviour of f-elements and suggesting that the lower oxidation state Np(II) may be chemically accessible.

Carbon monoxide molecules are typically coupled together using metal catalysts. The discovery that boron, a non-metal, mediates such a reaction is startling, and raises the prospect of potentially useful carbon–carbon bond-forming processes.

Uranium and manganese cations have been combined in a wheel-shaped supramolecular assembly that retains its magnetic spin state after the external field is removed, with a high barrier to its relaxation. This cluster supports recent predictions of the usefulness of the actinides in single-molecule magnetic devices.

Similarities in cancers can be studied to interrogate their etiology. Here, the authors use genome-wide association study summary statistics from six cancer types based on 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, showing that solid tumours arising from different tissues share a degree of common germline genetic basis.

A terminal uranium–carbon multiple bond has long been sought-after in actinide chemistry. Now, a complex featuring a dianionic carbon atom as part of a multidentate ligand brings actinide carbenes a little nearer.

Simple uranium complexes, UX₃, are shown to disproportionate in the presence of a reducing agent under mild conditions, cooperatively binding and reducing arenes. This enables arene C–H bond activation and borylation, and the trapping of reactive substituted arenes in inverse sandwich complexes.

The field of actinide chemistry is still young, not least because the radioactivity of these elements makes them difficult to work with. A study now reveals details of how actinide compounds might behave in water.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

A global network of researchers was formed to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity; this paper reports 13 genome-wide significant loci and potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection.

Whole-genome sequencing, transcriptome-wide association and fine-mapping analyses in over 7,000 individuals with critical COVID-19 are used to identify 16 independent variants that are associated with severe illness in COVID-19.

Metallacycles formed from two large, under-coordinated actinide M^IV cations and two rigid arene-bridged aryloxide ligands are capable of binding dinitrogen inside their cavity. These f-block complexes can catalyse the reduction and functionalization of dinitrogen as well as the catalytic conversion of molecular dinitrogen to a secondary silylamine.

The properties of actinide complexes depend on the ionic versus covalent nature of the bonds. Here, the authors report that pressure can distort actinide-oxygen bonding; differences seen for Th, U and Np result from the decreasing size of the atoms.

In colorectal cancer (CRC), finding loci associated with risk may give insight into disease aetiology. Here, the authors report a genome-wide association analysis in Europeans of 34,627 CRC cases and 71,379 controls, and find 31 new risk loci and 17 new risk SNPs at previously reported loci.

Understanding the electronic structure of the actinide series is critical for advancing the nuclear fuel cycle. Here, the authors explore a series of isostructural An(COT^big)₂ (An = Th, U, Np, Pu) complexes with clam-shell geometries, where structural and electronic characterization highlights the impact of f-orbital contributions in actinide bonding.

The unique reactivity of actinide metal complexes may offer opportunities to convert carbon oxygenates into value-added chemicals. This Review describes progress towards using these complexes as catalysts in such transformations with the ultimate aim of reducing our reliance on non-renewable resources.