Sulfur tetrafluoride and triethylamine react at low temperatures to form a 1:1 adduct. The unambiguous characterization of the SF(4)·N(C(2)H(5))(3), which is only stable at low temperature, proves the Lewis acid property of SF(4) towards organic Lewis bases. The S-N bond has a length of 2.384(2) Å and is an archetypical example of a dative S(IV) ← N bonding modality.

Sulfur tetrafluoride was shown to act as a Lewis acid towards organic nitrogen bases, such as pyridine, 2,6-dimethylpyridine, 4-methylpyridine, and 4-dimethylaminopyridine. The SF4 ⋅NC5 H5 , SF4 ⋅2,6-NC5 H3 (CH3 )2 , SF4 ⋅4-NC5 H4 (CH3 ), and SF4 ⋅4-NC5 H4 N(CH3 )2 adducts can be isolated as solids that are stable below -45 °C. The Lewis acid-base adducts were characterized by low-temperature Raman spectroscopy and the vibrational bands were fully assigned with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The electronic structures obtained from the DFT calculations were analyzed by the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). The crystal structures of SF4 ⋅NC5 H5 , SF4 ⋅4-NC5 H4 (CH3 ), and SF4 ⋅4-NC5 H4 N(CH3 )2 revealed weak SN dative bonds with nitrogen coordinating in the equatorial position of SF4 . Based on the QTAIM analysis, the non-bonded valence shell charge concentration on sulfur, which represents the lone pair, is only slightly distorted by the weak dative SN bond. No evidence for adducts between quinoline or isoquinoline with SF4 was found by low-temperature Raman spectroscopy.

The new Lewis-acid-base adduct of WSF 4 and pyridine, WSF 4 ·NC 5 H 5 , was prepared by combination of WSF 4 and excess pyridine.

The structure of T-2 toxin in the solid-state is limited to X-ray crystallographic studies, which lack sufficient resolution to provide direct evidence for hydrogen-bonding interactions. Furthermore, its solution-structure, despite extensive Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies, has provided little insight into its hydrogen-bonding behavior, thus far. Hydrogen-bonding interactions are often an important part of biological activity. In order to study these interactions, the structure of T-2 toxin was compared in both the solution- and solid-state using NMR Spectroscopy. It was determined that the solution- and solid-state structure differ dramatically, as indicated by differences in their carbon chemical shifts, these observations are further supported by solution proton spectral parameters and exchange behavior. The slow chemical exchange process and cross-relaxation dynamics with water observed between the hydroxyl hydrogen on C-3 and water supports the existence of a preferential hydrogen bonding interaction on the opposite side of the molecule from the epoxide ring, which is known to be essential for trichothecene toxicity. This result implies that these hydrogen-bonding interactions could play an important role in the biological function of T-2 toxin and posits towards a possible interaction for the trichothecene class of toxins and the ribosome. These findings clearly illustrate the importance of utilizing solid-state NMR for the study of biological compounds, and suggest that a more detailed study of this whole class of toxins, namely trichothecenes, should be pursued using this methodology.

The structure of [WOF4]4 has been reinvestigated by low-temperature X-ray crystallography and DFT (MN15/def2-SVPD) studies. Whereas the W4F4 ring of the tetramer is planar and disordered in the solid state, the optimized gas-phase geometry prefers a disphenoidally puckered W4F4 ring and demonstrates asymmetric fluorine bridging. Dissolution of MOF4 (M = Mo, W) in SO2 and SF4 results in the formation of MOF4(OSO) and [SF3]­[M2O2F9], respectively. Both SO2 adducts and [SF3]­[Mo2O2F9] have been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The crystal structure of [SF3]­[Mo2O2F9] reveals dimerization of the ion pair that results in a rare heptacoordinate sulfur center. Optimization of the {[SF3]­[M2O2F9]}2 dimers in the gas phase, however, results in the elongation of one contact such that the sulfur centers are effectively hexacoordinate. Meanwhile, the crystal structure of [SF3]­[W2O2F9]·HF instead demonstrates hexacoordinate sulfur centers and a highly unusual coordination to [SF3]+ from [W2O2F9]− through an oxido ligand. While [SF3]­[W2O2F9] does not decompose at ambient temperature, MOF4(OSO) and [SF3]­[Mo2O2F9] are unstable toward evolution of SO2 or SF4. Computational studies reveal that the monomerization of [WOF4]4 in the gas phase at 25 °C is thermodynamically unfavorable using SO2, but favorable using SF4, consistent with the relative thermal stabilities of WOF4(OSO) and [SF3]­[W2O2F9].