Dithione, the antipodal redox partner of ene-1,2-dithiol ligands and their metal complexes

Defining the oxidation state of the central atom in a coordination compound is fundamental in understanding the electronic structure and provides a starting point for elucidating molecular properties. The presence of non-innocent ligand(s) can obscure the oxidation state of the central atom as the ligand contribution to the electronic structure is difficult to ascertain. Redox-active ligands, such as dithiolene ligands, are well known non-innocent ligands that can exist in both a fully reduced (Dt2-) and fully oxidized (Dt0) states. Complexes containing the fully oxidized dithione state of the ligand are uncommon and only a few have been completely characterized. Dithione ligands are of interest due to their electron-deficient nature and ability to act as an electron acceptor for more electron-rich moieties, such as other dithiolene ligands or metal centers. This article focuses the syntheses, structures, and metal coordination, particularly coordination compounds, of dithione ligands. Various examples of mono, bis, and tris dithione complexes are discussed.

Conformational variety of flexible mono-dentate ligands in coordination compounds: influence of π-involving interactions

The effect of intermolecular interactions on the conformational variety of flexible mono-dentate ligands in coordination compounds has been investigated through the preparation of two series of mercury(ii) complexes. In this regard, the molecular and structural architecture of eight complexes, [HgCl2(L(amide-Cl))2] (), [HgCl2(L(amide-Br))2] (), [HgBr2(L(amide-Br))2] (), and [HgI2(L(amide-Br))2] (), as the first series and [HgBr2(L(imine-Cl))2] (), [HgBr2(L(imine-Br))2] (), [HgI2(L(imine-Cl))]n (), and [HgI2(L(imine-Br))]n (), as the second series, using two kind of flexible ligands, N-(1-halonaphthalen-4-yl)nicotinamide, L(amide-X), and 4-halo-N-((pyridin-3-yl)methylene)naphthalen-1-amine, L(imine-X), has been studied. Inspection of the packing of these compounds clearly shows the presence of conformational changes in the arrangement of the ligands in each series. Although there are slight differences between the crystal packing of these compounds, it seems that π-involving intermolecular interactions including πnaphπnaph in the first series and πimineπpy/naph in the second series with the cooperation of Hgπpy can lock the ligand conformational variety to a single conformer.