Synthesis and structural characterization of bis and tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato complexes: benzannulation promotes κ³-coordination

Bis- and Tris(2-oxobenzimidazolyl)hydroborato Complexes of Sodium and Thallium: New Classes of Bidentate and Tridentate Oxygen Donor Ligands

A series of bis- and tris(oxobenzimidazolyl)hydroborato compounds, namely, [Bo^RBenz]Na and [To^RBenz]-Na (R = Me, Bu^t, Ad), which feature uncommon sterically demanding LX [O₂] and L₂X [O₃] donor ligands, have been obtained via the reactions of NaBH₄ with 1-R-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-ones. Evidence that the alkyl substituents are suitably located to have a significant impact on the coordination environment is provided by the observation that the methyl derivative [To^MeBenz]Na(κ³-diglyme) exhibits κ³-coordination of the diglyme, whereas the t-butyl and adamantyl derivatives, [To^ButBenz]Na(κ²-diglyme) and [To^AdBenz]Na(κ²-diglyme), exhibit κ²-coordination. The [Bo^RBenz] and [To^RBenz] ligands also allow for isolation of discrete mononuclear thallium compounds, [Bo^RBenz]Tl and [To^RBenz]Tl, for which the steric demands of the ligands have been quantified in terms of both cone angle and buried volume concepts.

Photoinduced Reactivity of the Soft Hydrotris(6-tert-butyl-3-thiopyridazinyl)borate Scorpionate Ligand in Sodium, Potassium, and Thallium Salts

The soft scorpionate ligand hydrotris(6-tert-butyl-3-thiopyridazinyl)borate (Tn) was found to exhibit pronounced photoreactivity. Full elucidation of this process revealed the formation of 6-tert-butylpyridazine-3-thione (PnH) and 4,5-dihydro-6-tert-butylpyridazine-3-thione (H2PnH). Under exclusion of light, no solvolytic reactions occur, allowing the development of high-yield preparation protocols for the sodium, potassium, and thallium salts and improving the yield for their derived copper boratrane complex. The photoreactivity is relevant for all future studies with electron-deficient scorpionate ligands.

Influence of Benzannulation on Metal Coordination Geometries: Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato Cadmium Bromide, {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-Br)}2

The tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato cadmium complex, {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-Br)}2, may be synthesized via the reaction of [TmMeBenz]K with CdBr2. X-ray diffraction demonstrates that {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-Br)}2 exists as a dimer, which is in marked contrast to the monomeric structure of the non-benzannulated counterpart, [TmMe]CdBr, and thereby demonstrates that benzannulation of tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato ligands can have a distinct impact on the molecular structure of their metal complexes. In accord with this observation, density functional theory calculations indicate that the benzannulated dimers, {[TmMeBenz]Cd(μ-X)}2 (X = Cl, Br, I), are more stable with respect to dissociation than are their non-benzannulated counterparts, {[TmMe]Cd(μ-X)}2. Furthermore, the calculations also indicate that the stability of the dimer depends on the nature of X, such that the dimer becomes more stable in the sequence I < Br < Cl.

Synthesis and structural characterization of tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato cadmium halide complexes, {[Tm(MeBenz)]Cd(μ-Cl)}2 and [Tm(MeBenz)]CdI: a rare example of cadmium in a trigonal bipyramidal sulfur-rich coordination environment

The tris(2-mercapto-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato cadmium complexes, {[Tm(MeBenz)]Cd(μ-Cl)}2 and [Tm(MeBenz)]CdI, have been synthesized via the reactions of [Tm(MeBenz)]K with CdCl2 and CdI2, respectively. While X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that the iodide derivative, [Tm(MeBenz)]CdI, is a monomer, the chloride derivative, {[Tm(MeBenz)]Cd(μ-Cl)}2, exists as a dimer, which is unprecedented for Group 12 [Tm(R)]MX (X = Cl, Br, I) compounds. Furthermore, the cadmium centers of {[Tm(MeBenz)]Cd(μ-Cl)}2 are trigonal bipyramidal, which is an uncommon motif for cadmium complexes with a [S3Cl2] coordination sphere.

Molecular structures of tris(2-mercapto-1-tert-butylimidazolyl)hydroborato and tris(2-mercapto-1-adamantylimidazolyl)hydroborato sodium complexes: analysis of [Tm(R)] ligand coordination modes and conformations

The tris(mercaptoimidazolyl)hydroborato complexes, [κ(3)-S2H-Tm(Bu(t))]Na(THF)3 and [κ(3)-S2H-Tm(Ad)]Na(THF)3, which feature t-butyl and adamantyl substituents, have been synthesized via the reactions of the respective 1-R-1,3-dihydro-2H-imidazole-2-thiones with NaBH4 in THF (R = Bu(t), 1-Ad). X-ray diffraction studies indicate that the compounds are monomeric and that the [Tm(R)] ligands coordinate to the metal in a κ(3)-S2H manner via two of the sulfur donors and the hydrogen attached to boron, a combination that is unprecedented for sodium derivatives. Analysis of the tris(mercaptoimidazolyl)hydroborato compounds that are listed in the Cambridge Structural Database has allowed for the formulation of a set of criteria that enables κ(x)-S(x) and κ(x+1)-S(x)H coordination modes to be identified. Furthermore, the various κ(x)-S(x) and κ(x+1)-S(x)H coordination modes have also been analyzed with respect to the conformations of the [Tm(R)] ligands, which differ by rotation of the imidazolethione moieties about the B-N bond.

Soft scorpionate coordination at alkali metals

Reported here are the single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of bis-μ-methanol-κ(4)O:O-bis{[hydrotris(3-phenyl-2-sulfanylidene-2,3-dihydro-1H-1,3-imidazol-1-yl)borato-κ(3)H,S,S'](methanol-κO)sodium(I)}, [Na2(C27H22BN6S3)2(CH4O)4] (NaTm(Ph)), bis-μ-methanol-κ(4)O:O-bis{[hydrotris(3-isopropyl-2-sulfanylidene-2,3-dihydro-1H-1,3-imidazol-1-yl)borato-κ(3)H,S,S'](methanol-κO)sodium(I)}-diethyl ether-methanol (1/0.3333/0.0833), [Na2(C18H28BN6S3)2(CH4O)4]·0.3333C4H10O·0.0833CH3OH (NaTm(iPr)), and a novel anhydrous form of sodium hydrotris(methylthioimidazolyl)borate, poly[[μ-hydrotris(3-methyl-2-sulfanylidene-2,3-dihydro-1H-1,3-imidazol-1-yl)borato]sodium(I)], [Na(C12H16BN6S3)] ([NaTm(Me)]n). NaTm(iPr) and NaTm(Ph) have similar dimeric molecular structures with κ(3)H,S,S'-bonding, but they differ in that NaTm(Ph) is crystallographically centrosymmetric (Z' = 0.5) while NaTm(iPr) contains one crystallographically centrosymmetric dimer and one dimer positioned on a general position (Z' = 1.5). [NaTm(Me)]n is a one-dimensional coordination polymer that extends along the a direction and which contains a hitherto unseen side-on η(2)-C=S-to-Na bond type. An overview of the structural preferences of alkali metal soft scorpionate complexes is presented. This analysis suggests that these thione-based ligands will continue to be a rich source of interesting alkali metal motifs worthy of isolation and characterization.

Benzannulated tris(2-mercapto-1-imidazolyl)hydroborato ligands: tetradentate κ4-S3H binding and access to monomeric monovalent thallium in an [S3] coordination environment

The benzannulated tris(mercaptoimidazolyl)borohydride sodium complex, [Tm(Bu(t)Benz)]Na, has been synthesized via the reaction of NaBH4 with 1-tert-butyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazole-2-thione, while [Tm(MeBenz)]K has been synthesized via the reaction of KBH4 with 1-methyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazole-2-thione. The molecular structures of the solvated adducts, {[Tm(Bu(t)Benz)]Na(THF)}2(μ-THF)2 and [Tm(MeBenz)]K(OCMe2)3, have been determined by X-ray diffraction, which demonstrates that the [Tm(R)] ligands in these complexes adopt different coordination modes to that in {[Tm(MeBenz)]Na}2(μ-THF)3. Specifically, while the [Tm(MeBenz)] ligand of the sodium complex {[Tm(MeBenz)]Na}2(μ-THF)3 adopts a κ(3)-S3 coordination mode, the potassium complex [Tm(MeBenz)]K(OCMe2)3 adopts a most uncommon inverted κ(4)-S3H coordination mode in which the potassium binds to all three sulfur donors and the hydrogen of the B-H group in a linear KH-B manner. Furthermore, the [Tm(Bu(t)Benz)] ligand of {[Tm(Bu(t)Benz)]Na(THF)}2(μ-THF)2 adopts a κ(3)-S2H coordination mode, thereby demonstrating the flexibility of this ligand system. The monovalent thallium compounds, [Tm(MeBenz)]Tl and [Tm(Bu(t)Benz)]Tl, have been obtained via the corresponding reactions of [Tm(MeBenz)]Na and [Tm(Bu(t)Benz)]Na with TlOAc. X-ray diffraction demonstrates that the three sulfur donors of the [Tm(RBenz)] ligands of both [Tm(MeBenz)]Tl and [Tm(Bu(t)Benz)]Tl chelate to thallium. This coordination mode is in marked contrast to that in other [Tm(R)]Tl compounds, which exist as dinuclear molecules wherein two of the sulfur donors coordinate to different thallium centers. As such, this observation provides further evidence that benzannulation promotes κ(3)-S3 coordination in this system.

Synthesis and structural characterization of bis(2-oxoimidazolyl)hydroborato complexes: a new class of bidentate oxygen-donor ligands

A new class of bidentate ligands that feature oxygen donors, namely, the bis(2-oxo-1-tert-butylimidazolyl)hydroborato and bis(2-oxo-1-methylbenzimidazolyl)hydroborato ligands, [Bo(Bu(t))] and [Bo(MeBenz)], have been synthesized via the reactions of MBH4 with 2 equiv of the respective 2-imidazolone. Chelation of [Bo(Bu(t))] and [Bo(MeBenz)] to a metal center results in a flexible eight-membered ring that is capable of adopting a "boatlike" conformation that allows for secondary M···H-B interactions.