The Structure and Synthesis of Plutonium(III) Chlorides from Aqueous Solution

The preparation and structure of three trivalent plutonium chloride compounds from aqueous solution is reported. Two of the three are plutonium tetraaquatetrachloro complexes exhibiting a cis and a trans arrangement of Cl about the Pu. The identification of the coordination number of 4 with respect to Cl and the isomerism are both unprecedented in actinide solution chemistry. The third complex is a hexaaquadichloro complex of Pu(III), predicted by available thermodynamic data.