The tris(carbonato)dioxouranium(VI) ion: A structural model for uranium 4f7/2, 5/2 X-ray photoelectron spectra satellite structures for oxide and oxygen coordination cores

• We prepare an important uranium compound with a novel starting material.
• We discuss the uranium 4f7/2, 5/2 X-ray photoelectron spectrum of the material.
• We discuss the uranium/oxygen structure of the compound with respect to the elemental binding energy values observed.

An ambient pressure synthesis of potassium tris(carbonato)dioxouranium(VI), K4UO2(CO3)3, is reported in which a hydrolyzed uranyl salt (the first report of reacting a non-stoichiometric uranium mixture starting material to form the title compound) is reacted with potassium carbonate at ambient pressure to produce pure, high quality, large crystals of the title compound. The compound has been characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, along with X-ray single-crystal diffraction confirmatory data that have been reported previously. Binding energies and line widths, along with the concomitant associated satellite structure of the photoelectron peaks, are reported and compared to those of similar compounds. The uranium 4f7/2, 5/2 X-ray photoelectron lines show distinct, unique satellite features whose mechanisms of formation are discussed.