Mercury(II) 2-aminoethanethiolate clusters: Intramolecular transformations and mechanisms

Mohan S. Bharara, Sean Parkin, David A. Atwood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

The combination of HgF2 and 2-aminoethanethiol (AET, with some AET·HCl present) yielded a cyclic tetranuclear thiolate, [Hg 4Cl4(SCH2CH2NH2) 4] (1), with alternating Hg and S atoms. The Cl from the reaction mixture led to the formation of Hg-Cl bonds with no Hg-F in the final product. In contrast, a similar reaction with HgBr2 yielded a nonanuclear cluster, [Hg9Br15(SCH2CH2NH 3)15]3+ (2), and the disulfide salt {[HgBr 4][(NH3CH2CH2S-)2]} (3). Despite similar reactions, the AET groups in 2 are protonated compared to the nonprotonated amine groups in 1, which allows the ligand to chelate the Hg atom in the latter compound. The reaction with Hgl2 yielded a cyclic tetranuclear compound, [Hg4I6(SCH2CH 2NH2)2(SCH2CH2NH 3)2](H2O/EtOH) (4), containing protonated and nonprotonated AET groups. Compound 4 at room temperature irreversibly rearranges to [Hg4I4(SCH2CH2NH 2)4] (5), which is isostructural to 1. A systematic pathway for the formation of 1 along with the intramolecular conversion of 4 to 5 is proposed. These compounds demonstrate that very diverse Hg-S compounds form under similar reaction conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7261-7268
Number of pages8
JournalInorganic Chemistry
Volume45
Issue number18
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 4 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

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