Neptunium and plutonium complexes with a sterically encumbered triamidoamine (TREN) scaffold

The syntheses and characterisation of isostructural neptunium(IV) and plutonium(IV) complexes [AnIV(TRENTIPS)(Cl)] [An = Np, Pu; TRENTIPS = {N(CH2CH2NSiPri3)3}3−] are reported, along with the demonstration that they are likely reduced to the corresponding neptunium(III) and plutonium(III) products [AnIII(TRENTIPS)]; this chemistry provides new platforms from which to target a plethora of unprecedented molecular functionalities in transuranic chemistry and the neptunium(IV) molecule is the first structurally characterised neptunium(IV)–amide complex.