More than a century old, sulfonium cations are still intriguing species in the landscape of organic chemistry. On one hand they have found broad applications in organic synthesis and material...

The coordination chemistry of sulfonium cations, dormant since the early nineties, was recently revived when we reported the synthesis and characterization of the first Rh(I) and Pt(II) pincer-sulfonium complexes. With the Pt(II) complexes, we had noticed the hemilability of our sulfonium-pincer ligands further explored here. This hemilability led to mononuclear bidentate complexes with both the aromatic and aliphatic sulfonium ligands. With the latter, due to its flexibility, dimeric structures of two different kinds were also allowed. The more rigid aromatic backbone adopted only a mononuclear bidentate mode, leading to a dynamic equilibrium between two asymmetric geometries. Computational study of this process predicted a local energy minimum for a pincer-sulfonium−PtCl complex. However, the activation energy of its formation, as a possible intermediate, was found to be too high and indeed was not observed experimentally. Nevertheless, such a PtCl complex was prepared and characterized by XRD. Although its S−Pt bond was significantly shorter than in its PtMe analogue, the former was easily dissociated in coordinating solvents. It seems that lowering the d z 2 orbital in this complex by strong π back-donation renders the Pt(II) nucleus more susceptible to nucleophilic attacks. This comprehensive study should lay the ground for future applications of pincersulfonium−Pt(II) complexes in π-acid catalysis.

The coordination chemistry of sulfonium cations, dormant since the early eighties, was recently revived when we reported the synthesis and characterization of the first Rh(I) and Pt(II) pincer sulfonium complexes. With the Pt(II) complexes, we had noticed the hemilability of our sulfonium pincer ligands, further explored here. This hemilability led to mononuclear bidentate complexes with both the aromatic and aliphatic sulfonium ligands. With the latter, due to its flexibility, dimeric structures of two different kinds were also allowed. The more rigid aromatic backbone adopted only a mononuclear bidentate mode, leading to a dynamic equilibrium between two asymmetric geometries. Computational study of this process predicted a local energy minimum for a pincer sulfonium-PtCl complex. However, the activation energy of its formation, as a possible intermediate, was found to be too high and indeed was not observed experimentally. Nevertheless, such PtCl complex was prepared and characterized by XRD. Although its S-Pt bond was significantly shorter than in its PtMe analog, the former was easily dissociated in coordinating solvents. It seems that lowering the dz2 orbital in this complex by strong π-back donation, renders the Pt(II) nucleus more susceptible to nucleophilic attacks. This comprehensive study should lay the ground for future applications of pincer sulfonium-Pt(II) complexes in π-acid catalysis.

More than a century old, sulfonium ions are still intriguing species in the landscape of organic chemistry. On one hand they have found broad applications in organic synthesis and material science, but on the other hand, while isoelectronic to the ubiquitous tertiary phosphine ligands, their own coordination chemistry has been neglected for the last three decades. Here we report the synthesis and full characterization of the first Rh(I) and Pt(II) complexes of sul-fonium. Moreover, for the first time, the coordinating ability of an aromatic sulfonium has been established. A thorough computational analysis of the exceptionally short S-Rh bonds obtained attests for the strongly π-accepting nature of sul-fonium cations and places them among the best π-acceptor ligands available today. Our calculations also show that when embedded within a pincer framework their π-acidity is enhanced. Therefore, in addition to the stability and modularity that these frameworks offer, our pincer complexes might open the way for sulfonium cations to become powerful tools in π-acid catalysis.

More than a century old, sulfonium ions are still intriguing species in the landscape of organic chemistry. On one hand they have found broad applications in organic synthesis and material science, but on the other hand, while isoelectronic to the ubiquitous tertiary phosphine ligands, their own coordination chemistry has been neglected for the last three decades. Here we report the synthesis and full characterization of the first Rh(I) and Pt(II) complexes of sul-fonium. Moreover, for the first time, the coordinating ability of an aromatic sulfonium has been established. A thorough computational analysis of the exceptionally short S-Rh bonds obtained attests for the strongly π-accepting nature of sul-fonium cations and places them among the best π-acceptor ligands available today. Our calculations also show that when embedded within a pincer framework their π-acidity is enhanced. Therefore, in addition to the stability and modularity that these frameworks offer, our pincer complexes might open the way for sulfonium cations to become powerful tools in π-acid catalysis.