Structural chemistry of uranium phosphonates

• The diversity of uranium phosphonates in solid state structures is described.
• Alkylphosphonate and arylphosphonate ligands with different functionalities exhibit high binding affinity for uranium ions.
• Heterometallic uranyl phosphonates with intriguing structures are obtained by incorporating 3d, 4f, and 5f metals.

Uranium phosphonates, an important class of actinide-organic coordination polymers, exhibit an exceptionally diverse and broad range of crystal structures. A variety of structure topologies have been identified for hexavalent uranium phosphonates, including cage clusters, chains, ribbons and tubes, sheets, and three-dimensional frameworks. In contrast, only a handful of tetravalent uranium phosphonates are known. This review presents a comprehensive account of the crystal structures of uranium phosphonates and the various building units (e.g. discrete monomers, polymeric units, infinite chains, and sheets) that result from the numerous coordination modes of phosphonate ligands with uranium.

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