# A Guide to Nonaqueous Electrochemistry of f‑Element Complexes

## TL;DR

This paper provides a guide for performing electrochemistry on f-element complexes in nonaqueous conditions, focusing on best practices for accurate and reproducible results.

## Contribution

The paper introduces methodological best practices for nonaqueous electrochemistry of f-element complexes, including handling reactive and radioactive species.

## Key findings

- Nonaqueous solvents and pseudo reference electrodes require specialized approaches for accurate electrochemical measurements.
- The guide outlines metrics for evaluating electrochemical and chemical reversibility in f-element complexes.
- Best practices are extended to the analysis of radioactive transuranic complexes.

## Abstract

Electrochemistry is a powerful tool for assessing and
understanding
the redox chemistry of molecular complexes. Cyclic voltammetry enables
the f-element community to study molecules in unusually high or low
oxidation states, which potentially pose important broad-scope questions
of electronic structure. In the pursuit of boundary-pushing compounds,
reactive air- and moisture-sensitive species are often encountered,
which can be challenging to characterize, especially when they are
chemically incompatible with certain solvents, electrolytes, or electrodes
or when their potentials lie outside of common electrochemical windows.
Nonaqueous solvents and pseudo reference electrodes complicate many
of the standard practices in acquiring high-quality and reproducible
electrochemical data. This guide presents a detailed discussion of
selecting appropriate cell conditions and referencing and addresses
metrics for evaluating electrochemical and chemical reversibility.
These methodological approaches have been extended to best practices
for the electrochemical analysis of radioactive transuranic complexes.