Association of uranyl nitrate with the macrocycle [P8W48O184]40– in formate buffered aqueous solution leads to the formation of a new compound (K11.3Li8.1Na22)­[(UO2)7.2(HCOO)7.8(P8W48O184)­Cl8]·89H2O (1). Its characterization by XRD reveals a high disorder of the uranyl cations and the formation of monodimensional chains of anionic [(UO2)7.2(HCOO)7.8(P8W48O184)­Cl8]41.4– entities linked through formate ligands. The uranyl species are located either in the coordinating sites of the macrocycle [P8W48O184]40– or at its surface. Further studies of the molecule by SAXS and TEM show that the 1D chain collapses to give rise to the formation of polydisperse spherically aggregated species with an average radius of 129 Å.

The synthesis of a 3D coordination polymer [U(HL)2] (L = hemimellitate) and a new poly-oxo cluster {U14} afterwards is presented.