BIO

Alyssa is a first-year Behavioral Neuroscience major from Boulder, Colorado. She is a member of the FSU Flying High Circus and the swing dance club and enjoys any opportunity to spend time outdoors. Although they are likely to change, her current interests are neuroscience, anesthesiology, and genetics, and she hopes to pursue those paths in the future. She is very grateful for the chance to do research in college and would love to continue with it over the course of the next few years.

The Effects of Pressure and Ligand Type on Valence Electron Bonding in Lanthanide Compounds

Abstract

One of the most promising realms of study within the field of chemistry has to do with the heaviest elements, specifically the lanthanides and actinides, elements 57-71 and 89-103 respectively. These elements have a number of unique properties that have not been studied sufficiently to fully understand. Thus, the aim of this research is to synthesize lanthanide compounds, specifically ones that will form solid crystals, so that we can more fully determine their structure and corresponding properties. Once we find compounds that will crystalize in a satisfactory manner, we can put them under extreme pressure in diamond anvil cells and then use x-ray crystallography to determine how the electrons within the metal are engaged in bonding when under high pressure. The goal is to better understand how both pressure and the type of ligand affect the degree to which the 4f and 5f valence electrons in these compounds are involved in bonding. The current task is to synthesize a lanthanide benzene dithiolate with a crown ether on the ring, since this structure has a relatively high likelihood of being able to crystalize. If we can successfully synthesize the compound, then we will be able to move on to the analysis of its properties and deepen our understanding of the lanthanides and actinides.

Keywords: Lanthanides, Actinides, Electron bonding