Uranocene – The Trend Setting Aromatic Actinide Sandwich Compound
Uranocene, U(C₈H₈)₂, or biscyclooctatetraenyl uranium, is a most interesting aromatic organometallic sandwich compound.1 Notice its dumbbell-like shape. By no means is its shape uranocene's only claim to fame. But before we get into that, it would be helpful to explain terms. We can guess why it's an organometallic compound, just as we can guess why it's called a sandwich compound. Let us, however, discuss what we mean by the term aromatic. Aromaticity in a Nutshell An aromatic structure is a molecule or ion that is cyclic and flat and that incorporates 4n+2 conjugated (alternating) sp2 (double) bonds, where n is some small integer. It displays increased stability over non-aromatic structures. Despite possessing double bonds, aromatic structures tend to undergo substitution rather than addition reactions. It requires considerable energy to disrupt…