The Unprecedented [S4 N2 O10 ]2- Anion in the Molecular Gold Complexes [Au2 Br2 (S4 N2 O10 )2 ] and [Au2 Cl2 (S4 N2 O10 )2 ](S2 O5 Cl2 )

The reaction of hexachlorophosphazene, P₃ N₃ Cl₆ , with SO₃ and the gold halides AuCl₃ and AuBr₃ , respectively, leads to the new cyclic anionic tetramer, [S₄ N₂ O₁₀ ]^2- , which is coordinated to Au³⁺ in the dimeric complexes [Au₂ X₂ (S₄ N₂ O₁₀ )₂ ] (X=Cl, Br). The [S₄ N₂ O₁₀ ]^2- anion can be seen as the condensation product of two sulfate anions, [SO₄ ]^2- _, and two amidosulfate anions, [NH₂ SO₃ ]^- .

Polyanionic Imido-P(V) Ligands: From Transition Metal Complexes to Coordination Driven Self-Assemblies

The chemistry of the imido-anions of the main group elements has been studied for more than three decades. The imido (NR)^- group is isoelectronic to the oxo (=O) group and can coordinate with metal ions through its lone pairs of electrons. The polyimido-P(V) anions are well explored as they resemble the phosphorus oxo moieties such as H₃ PO₄ , H₂ PO₄ ^- , HPO₄ ^2- and PO₄ ^3- species. These imido anions are typically generated using strong main group organometallic reagents such as ⁿ BuLi, Et₂ Zn, Me₃ Al and ⁿ Bu₂ Mg, etc. As a result, their coordination chemistry has been restricted to reactions in anhydrous aprotic solvents for a few main group metal ions. This account presents our findings on using certain soft transition metal such Ag(I) and Pd (II) for isolating these imido-P(V) anions as their corresponding self-assembled clusters and cages. Using the various salts of Ag(I) ions in reaction with 2-pyridyl (² Py) functionalized phosphonium salts and phosphoric triamides, we obtained the mono- and dianionic form of these imido ligands {[P(N² Py)₂ (NH² Py)₂ ]^- , [P(N² Py)₂ (NH² Py)]^- , [PO(N² Py)(NH² Py)₂ ]^2- } and derived interesting examples of tri, penta, hepta and octanuclear Ag(I) clusters. Interestingly, by using the salts of Pd (II) ions, the elusive imido-phosphate trianions of the type [(RN)₃ PO]^3- (R=^t Bu, ^c Hex, ⁱ Pr) were generated in a facile one pot reaction as their corresponding tri- and hexanuclear clusters of the type {Pd₃ [(NR)₃ PO](OAc)₃ }_n (n=1 or 2). These trianions acts as a cis-coordinated hexadentate ligand for a trinuclear Pd (II) cluster and serve as the polyhedral building units for constructing hitherto unknown family of neutral cages in tetrahedral {Pd₃ [(Nⁱ Pr)₃ PO]₄ (L)₆ } and cubic {Pd₃ [(Nⁱ Pr)₃ PO]₈ (L)₁₂ } structures in the presence of suitable linker ligands (L^2- ). These cages show interesting host-guest chemistry and post-assembly reactions. Remarkably, by employing chiral tris(imido)phosphate trianions, enantiopure chiral cages of the type [(Pd₃ X*)₄ (L)₆ ], ([X*]^3- =RRR- or SSS-[PO(N(*CH(CH₃ )Ph)₃ ]^3- ), were synthesized and used for the chiral-recognition and enantio-separation of small racemic guest molecules. Some of these chiral cages were also shown to exhibit polyradical framework structures. In future, these and other similar types of cages are envisioned as potential molecular vessels for performing the reactions in their confined environment. The enantiomeric cages can be probed for asymmetric catalysis and the separation of a range of small chiral molecules.

Isolation and properties of the long elusive ultramarine-blue soluble [K3{(NtBu)3S}2]··cage radical

The reaction of potassium metal with sulfurtriimide S(N^tBu)₃ (II) gives the long elusive deep blue cage radical [K₃{(N^tBu)₃S}₂]^. (1_K) that crystallizes at −35 °C from toluene solution. The subsequent physical characterization via X‐ray structure analysis, UV/Vis‐, and EPR spectroscopy from solution reveals the existence of one unpaired electron delocalized within the whole cage, i.e. coupling with the six nitrogen atoms, as well as the three potassium atoms caped by the two SN₃ ligands. The present X‐ray structure analysis further supports previous assumptions made on the parent compound 1_Li obtained from [Li₄{(N^tBu)₃S}₂] (I) and finally elucidates the structural arrangement of the SN₃ caps and alkali metals in such radical cage species.

Slow Magnetic Relaxation in Mono- and Bimetallic Lanthanide Tetraimido-Sulfate S(NtBu)4 2- Complexes

Lanthanide ions are particularly well-suited for the design of single-molecule magnets owing to their large unquenched orbital angular momentum and strong spin-orbit coupling that gives rise to high magnetic anisotropy. Such nanoscopic bar magnets can potentially revolutionize high-density information storage and processing technologies, if blocking temperatures can be increased substantially. Exploring non-classical ligand scaffolds with the aim to boost the barriers to spin-relaxation are prerequisite. Here, the synthesis, crystallographic and magnetic characterization of a series of each isomorphous mono- and dinuclear lanthanide (Ln=Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er) complexes comprising tetraimido sulfate ligands are presented. The dinuclear Dy complex [{(thf)2 Li(NtBu)2 S(tBuN)2 DyCl2 }2  ⋅ ClLi(thf)2 ] (1c) shows true signatures of single-molecule magnet behavior in the absence of a dc field. In addition, the mononuclear Dy and Tb complexes [{(thf)2 Li(NtBu)2 S(tBuN)2 LnCl2 (thf)2 ] (2b,c) show slow magnetic relaxation under applied dc fields.