Photochemistry of 1,3,2,4-benzodithiadiazines: formation and oxidation of 1,2,3-benzodithiazolyl radicals

New 3,1,2,4-benzothiaselenadiazines, related π-heterocycles including Herz cations, radicals and molecular complexes, and Bunte salts

3,1,2,4-Benzothiaselenadiazines, 1,3,2,4-benzodithiadiazines and 1,2,4,3,5-benzotrithiadiazepines are synthesized from Ar–NSN–SiMe3 and chalcogen chlorides, and converted into Herz salts, radicals and molecular complexes, and S- and Se-Bunte salts.

Experimental and computational study on the structure and properties of Herz cations and radicals: 1,2,3-benzodithiazolium, 1,2,3-benzodithiazolyl, and their Se congeners

Salts of 1,2,3-benzodithiazolium (1), 2,1,3-benzothiaselenazolium (3), and 1,2,3-benzodiselenazolium (4) (Herz cations), namely, [1][BF4], [1][SbCl6], [3][BF4], [3][GaCl4], [3][SbCl6], and [4][GaCl4], were prepared from the corresponding chlorides and NaBF4, GaCl3, or SbCl5. It was found that [1][SbCl6] and [3][SbCl6] spontaneously transform in MeCN solution to [1]3[SbCl6]2[Cl] and [3]3[SbCl6]2[Cl], respectively. [1][BF4], [1]3[SbCl6]2[Cl], [3][BF4], [3]3[SbCl6]2[Cl], and [4][GaCl4] were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). In solution, these [BF4](-) and [GaCl4](-) salts as well as [1][GaCl4], [2][GaCl4], [3][GaCl4], [3][Cl], and [4][Cl] were characterized by multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The corresponding Herz radicals 1(•)-4(•) were obtained in toluene and DCM solutions by the reduction of the appropriate salts with Ph3Sb and characterized by EPR. Cations 1-4 and radicals 1(•)-4(•) were investigated computationally at the density functional theory (DFT) and second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) levels of theory. The B1B95/cc-pVTZ method was found to satisfactorily reproduce the experimental geometries of 1-4; an increase in the basis set size to cc-pVQZ results in only minor changes. For both 1-4 and 1(•)-4(•), the Hirshfeld charges and bond orders, as well as the Hirshfeld spin densities for the radicals, were calculated using the B1B95/cc-pVQZ method. It was found for both the cations and the radicals that replacing S atoms with Se atoms leads to considerable changes in the atomic charges, bond lengths, and bond orders only at the involved and the neighboring sites. According to the calculations, 60% of the positive charge in the cations and 80% of the spin density in the radicals is localized on the heterocycles, with the spin density distributions being very similar for all radicals 1(•)-4(•). For the cations 1-4, the NICS values (B3LYP/cc-pVTZ for B1B95/cc-pVTZ geometries) lie in the narrow range from -5.5 ppm to -6.6 ppm for the carbocycles, and from -14.4 ppm to -15.5 ppm for heterocycles, clearly indicating the aromaticity of the cations. Calculations on radical dimers [1(•)]2-[4(•)]2 revealed, with only one exception, positive dimerization energies, i.e., the dimers are inherently unstable in the gas phase.

Photochemistry of tetrasulfur tetranitride: laser flash photolysis and quantum chemical study

The photochemistry of tetrasulfur tetranitride (1) was studied in hexane solution by the laser flash photolysis technique (LFP). The experimental findings were interpreted using the results of previous matrix isolation studies (Pritchina, E.A.; Gritsan, N.P.; Bally, T.; Zibarev, A.V. Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 4075) and high-level quantum chemical calculations. LFP produces two primary intermediates, one of which is the boat-shaped 8-membered cyclic compound (2) and the other is the 6-membered S(3)N(3) cyclic compound carrying an exocyclic (S)-N═S group (3). The primary products 2 and 3 absorb a second photon and undergo transformation to the 6-membered S(3)N(3) cycle carrying an exocyclic (N)-S≡N group (4), which is very unstable and converts back to intermediate 3. The quantum yield of the primary product formation is close to unity even though the quantum yield of photodegradation of 1 is low (~0.01). Thus, 1 is a photochromic compound undergoing in solution the thermally reversible photochemical isomerization. The mechanism of the photochromic process was established, and the rate constants of the elementary reactions were measured.

Photochemical study on the reactivity of tetrasulfur tetranitride, S4N4

To elucidate the multifaceted but poorly understood chemistry of the pivotal polysulfur-nitrogen heterocycle, tetrasulfur tetranitride (S(4)N(4), 1), its photochemistry was studied in Ar matrices. Thereby two primary intermediates and a secondary one (2-4) were detected, and their UV-vis and IR spectra were identified through specific interconversions of 1-4 that can be induced by selective irradiations. The structures associated with these spectra were assigned with the help of DFT calculations. From these assignments it follows that, under the conditions of the present experiments, the cage structure of 1 transforms into isomeric structures 2-4, one of which is a boat-shaped 8-membered cycle (2), and the two other are novel 6-membered S(3)N(3) cycles carrying exocyclic (N)S[triple bond]N (3) or (S)N=S (4) groups, respectively, which have not been previously described. These three intermediates probably play a pivotal role in the formation of the diverse products that are observed in the reactions of S(4)N(4) even under mild reaction conditions.