Carbon–sulfur bond cleavage of benzothiophene by Cp∗Co(C2H4)2

Chromium-Thiolate Complex Undergoing C-S Bond Cleavage

The cleavage of C-S bonds represents a crucial step in fossil fuel refinement to remove organosulfur impurities. Efforts are required to identify alternatives that can replace the energy-intensive hydrodesulfurization process currently in use. In this context, we have developed a series of bis-thiolato-ligated CrIII complexes supported by the L2- ligand (L2- = 2,2'-bipyridine-6,6'-diyl(bis(1,1-diphenylethanethiolate), one of them displaying desulfurization of one thiolate of the ligand under reducing and acidic conditions at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. While only 5-coordinated complexes were previously isolated by reaction of L2- with 3d metal MIII ions, both 5- and 6-coordinated mononuclear complexes have been obtained in the case of CrIII, viz., [CrIIILCl], [CrIIILCl2]-, and [CrIIILCl(CH3CN)]. The investigation of the reactivity of [CrIIILCl(CH3CN)] under reducing conditions led to a dinuclear [CrIII2L2(μ-Cl)(μ-OH)] compound and, in the presence of protons, to the mononuclear CrIII complex [CrIII(LN2S)2]+, where LN2S- is the partially desulfurized form of L2-. A desulfurization mechanism has been proposed involving the release of H2S, as evidenced experimentally.

Recent advances in well-defined, late transition metal complexes that make and/or break C-N, C-O and C-S bonds

Chemical transformations that result in either the formation or cleavage of carbon-heteroatom bonds are among the most important processes in the chemical sciences. Herein, we present a review on the reactivity of well-defined, late-transition metal complexes that result in the making and breaking of C-N, C-O and C-S bonds via fundamental organometallic reactions, i.e. oxidative addition, reductive elimination, insertion and elimination reactions. When appropriate, emphasis is placed on structural and spectroscopic characterization techniques, as well as mechanistic data.

Crystal structure of bis-(η2-ethyl-ene)(η5-penta-methyl-cyclo-penta-dien-yl)cobalt

The title compound, [Co(C10H15)(C2H4)2], was prepared by Na/Hg reduction of [Co2(C10H15)2(μ-Cl)2] in THF under an ethyl-ene atmosphere and crystallized from pentane at 193 K. The Co-C(olefin) bonds have an average length of 2.022 (2) Å, while the Co-C(penta-dien-yl) bonds average 2.103 (19) Å. The olefin C=C bonds are 1.410 (1) Å. The dihedral angle between the planes defined by the cyclo-penta-dienyl ligand and the two olefin ligands is 0.25 (12)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked into chains by C-H⋯π inter-actions.