Mercurophilic interaction in novel polynuclear Hg(II)-2- aminoethanethiolates

Mohan S. Bharara, Thanhhoa H. Bui, Sean Parkin, David A. Atwood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

The reaction of 2-aminoethanethiol hydrochloride with Hg2Cl 2 in water yielded elemental mercury and one-dimensional polynuclear compounds [{Hg3Cl5(SCH2CH2NH 3)3}Cl]n (1) and [HgCl(SCH2CH 2NH2)(H2O)2]n (2). The coordination environment around Hg in 1 and 2 is quite variable despite similar reaction conditions. The formation of a five-membered S/N chelate in 2 can be attributed to the use of base to produce a neutral ligand. Three independent types of Hg atoms, both three- and four-coordinate are observed in 1, whereas in 2, the Hg atom is tetracoordinate with S, N and Cl atoms in the primary coordination sphere. Despite distinct structural chemistry, the coordination environments in 1 and 2 are fairly similar with repeating units connected with bridged thiolate S atoms in addition to a terminal Cl attached to Hg. Intermolecular hydrogen-bonding involving amine protons, Cl and water molecules are responsible for a three-dimensional network in both 1 and 2. A short Hg ⋯ Hg distance of 3.564 A, indicates the presence of a mercurophilic interaction in 1. The compounds have been characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, UV-Vis, FT-IR, Raman, mass spectrometry, TGA and single X-ray crystallography.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3874-3880
Number of pages7
JournalDalton Transactions
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 21 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Inorganic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mercurophilic interaction in novel polynuclear Hg(II)-2- aminoethanethiolates'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this