Characterization of a strong covalent Th3+–Th3+ bond inside an I h (7)-C80 fullerene cage

Abstract

Studying the nature of actinide-actinide bonds is important for understanding the electronic structure of the 5f elements, but the synthesis of these chemical bonds remains extremely challenging. Here, the authors report a strong covalent Th-Th bond formed between two rarely accessible Th3+ ions, stabilized inside a fullerene cage.