biostudies-literatureDu JRCUK | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)European Research CouncilEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council5649https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8463702biostudies-literatureUnknown12(1)Determining the nature and extent of covalency of early actinide chemical bonding is a fundamentally important challenge. Recently, X-ray absorption, electron paramagnetic, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies have probed actinide-ligand covalency, largely confirming the paradigm of early actinide bonding varying from ionic to polarised-covalent, with this range sitting on the continuum between ionic lanthanide and more covalent d transition metal analogues. Here, we report measurement of the covalency of a terminal uranium(VI)-nitride by ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and find an exceptional nitride chemical shift and chemical shift anisotropy. This redefines the ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy parameter space, and experimentNature communicationsExceptional uranium(VI)-nitride triple bond covalency from ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and quantum chemical analysis.PMC8463702EP/N021932/1EP/S033181/1EP/M027015/1612724EP/K024000/1EP/V007580/1Berryman VEJKaltsoyannis NAdams RWDu JLiddle STSeed JALee DfalseExceptional uranium(VI)-nitride triple bond covalency from ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and quantum chemical analysis.Determining the nature and extent of covalency of early actinide chemical bonding is a fundamentally important challenge. Recently, X-ray absorption, electron paramagnetic, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies have probed actinide-ligand covalency, largely confirming the paradigm of early actinide bonding varying from ionic to polarised-covalent, with this range sitting on the continuum between ionic lanthanide and more covalent d transition metal analogues. Here, we report measurement of the covalency of a terminal uranium(VI)-nitride by ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and find an exceptional nitride chemical shift and chemical shift anisotropy. This redefines the ¹⁵N nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy parameter space, and experiment2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Sep2025-04-07T00:10:27.594Z2025-04-04T19:44:51.24ZS-EPMC84637023456144810.1038/s41467-021-25863-2