Macrocyclic Ligand Coordinating Amide-Arm Hydrolysis Reaction Activation in Aqueous Solutions: Tetravalent Uranium Does It Better

Chelation of lanthanide and actinide cations within a suitable macrocyclic ligand often results in a rigid, kinetically inert, and thermodynamically stable complex. A benchmark for such cation-ligand suitability are cyclen-derived macrocyclic ligands, frequently used as large cation hosts for various applications. Herein, a comprehensive study of the 1,4,7,10-tetrakis(carbamoylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane ligand (DOTAM) chelates of U^IV and Ce^III and their properties in aqueous solutions is presented. By employing multiple analysis techniques, including X-ray crystallography, UV-vis absorbance, ¹H NMR, UPLC-MS, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry, the study has revealed that the two aqueous complexes undergo a spontaneous, gradual, and stepwise hydrolysis of each of the coordinated amides toward carboxylates. The coordination of U^IV in the studied reaction has been shown to significantly enhance the reaction rate, leading to an acceleration of up to 6 orders of magnitude compared to the natural process of simple aqueous amides at room temperature. An attempt to describe the unusual chelated metal cation amide-activation feature, based on the relatively lower rigidity of the complex structure, is presented. Additionally, the electrochemical properties of the complex series are discussed in detail, along with the limitations of the analytical methods employed.