UDC 539.19 Structural models are designed and spectral characteristics are computed based on DFT calculations for a complex of uranium tetrachloride with two molecules of dimethylsulfoxide (UCl 4 ⋅2DMSO). The calculations were carried out using a B3LYP hybrid functional in the LANL2DZ effective core potential approximation for the uranium atom and a cc-pVDZ all-electron basis set for all other atoms. Two structural variants were found for the complex. In the first of them, which is more stable, DMSO molecules are coordinated to the central uranium atom through oxygen atoms whereas in the second one, whose energy is 225 kJ/mol higher, the coordination proceeds through sulfur atoms. The obtained spectral characteristics are analyzed and compared with experimental data. Spectral features that are characteristic of the complexation process are identified. The adequacy of the proposed models and the agreement between calculation and experiment are demonstrated.Introduction. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) occupies a special place among polar organic solvents containing C=O, S=O, or P=O electron-donating groups and; consequently, tending to form coordination complexes. In contrast with dimethylformamide (DMF), hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), and other compounds, DMSO can coordinate to the central metal atom in certain instances not only through the O atom but also through the S atom [1][2][3][4][5]. The latter type of coordination is accompanied by a short-wavelength shift of the S=O stretching vibrational frequency whereas coordination of the former type shifts the frequency to longer wavelength. Thus, the spectral position of this vibrational frequency can act as a highly reliable signature of the complex structure.Herein structural variants of the complex of UCl 4 with two DMSO molecules are discussed based on quantum-chemical calculations of the electronic structure and an analysis of previously obtained IR spectra [6,7]. Such complexes provide an example of polymerization involving organic and inorganic ligands and, in particular, can serve as a model for uranium complexation. Their spectral and structural characteristics can be used for the preparation of uranium oxides that are used in nuclear energy.Experimental and Calculations. IR absorption spectra of pure DMSO and UCl 4 ⋅2DMSO pressed into KBr pellets [6], suspended in a mineral-oil mull [7] for the middle IR region, or pressed into a polymeric matrix [6] for the long-wavelength region were recorded on a Vertex 70 spectrophotometer (Bruker) in the ranges 400-4000 cm