The mechanisms for the exchange of water between [UO2(H2O)(5)](2+), [UO2(oxalate)(2)(H2O)](2-), and water solvent along dissociative (D), associative (A) and interchange (1) pathways have been investigated with quantum chemical methods. The choice of exchange mechanism is based on the computed activation energy and the geometry of the identified transition states and intermediates. These quantities were calculated both in the gas phase and with a polarizable continuum model for the solvent. There is a significant and predictable difference between the activation energy of the gas phase and solvent models: the energy barrier for the D-mechanism increases in the solvent as compared to the gas phase, while it decreases for the A- and I-mechanisms. The calculated activation energy, AW, for the water exchange in [UO2(H2O)(5)](2+) is 74, 19, and 21 kJ/mol, respectively, for the D-, A-, and I-mechanisms in the solvent, as compared to the experimental value DeltaH(double dagger) = 26 +/- 1 kJ/mol. This indicates that the D-mechanism for this system can be ruled out. The energy barrier between the intermediates and the transition states is small, indicating a lifetime for the intermediate approximate to 10(-10) s, making it very difficult to distinguish between the A- and I-mechanisms experimentally. There is no direct experimental information on the rate and mechanism of water exchange in [UO2(oxalate)(2)(H2O)](2-)containing two bidentate oxalate ions. The activation energy and the geometry of transition states and intermediates along the D-, A-, and I-pathways were calculated both in the gas phase and in a water solvent model, using a single-point MP2 calculation with the gas phase geometry. The activation energy, AW, in the solvent for the D-, A-, and I-mechanisms is 56, 12, and 53 kJ/mol, respectively. This indicates that the water exchange follows an associative reaction mechanism. The geometry of the A- and I-transition states for both [UO2(H2O)(5)](2+) and [UO2(oxalate)(2)(H2O)](2-) indicates that the entering/leaving water molecules are located outside the plane formed by the spectator ligands.