【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】A research team from Soochow University and Tsinghua University has successfully synthesized rare earth triple-bond compounds

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Soochow University has collaborated with a research team from Tsinghua University. Rare earths are important strategic resources, and the properties of their chemical bonds directly influence the characteristics, functions, and technical applications of rare earth compounds. Recently, the research team led by Chen Ning from Soochow University, in collaboration with the team led by Li Jun from Tsinghua University, successfully synthesized rare earth triple-bond compounds, which had long been considered a \"research Forbidden zone \"; this achievement challenged the traditional understanding of the bonding capabilities of rare earth elements. The relevant findings have been published in Nature Chemistry. Rare earth elements include scandium, yttrium, and 15 lanthanide elements, whose electronic structures exhibit extreme complexity, uniqueness, and diversity. In rare earth compounds, chemical bonds primarily exist in the form of ionic bonds based on electrostatic forces. Due to the contraction effect of the 4f orbitals and the higher energy of the 5d orbitals, rare earth elements have a very limited ability to form covalent bonds, especially double and triple bonds. It is precisely because of this property that, for a long time, the preparation of lanthanide rare earth compounds containing double bonds has been extremely rare, while the preparation of those with triple bonds was considered \"impossible\". In this study, the research team innovatively utilized the spatial confinement and protective effect of fullerene molecular cages, along with an improved arc discharge technique, to successfully create the first triple-bonded compound formed by the rare earth element cerium and carbon, embedded within fullerenes, thereby achieving the stable formation of a cerium-carbon triple bond. The researchers say that this study not only opens up new avenues for the research of rare earth chemical bonds, but also holds great significance for the preparation of rare earth compounds and new materials.