First isolable uranium–carbon triple bond opens new window into heavy-element chemistry

Researchers have created the first isolable uranium–carbon triple bond, overcoming a longstanding challenge in heavy-element chemistry. The team used a new carbon-atom transfer strategy to make the uranium compound stable enough to isolate and study in detail. Advanced experimental and computational techniques confirmed the unusual bonding, revealing how uranium and carbon share electrons in a way that is related to, but distinct from, transition-metal chemistry.