A prominent reaction of vitamin B 12 is the conversion of d,l-homocystein, HS(CH 2 ) 2 CHNH 2 CO 2 H, to l-methionine, MeS(CH 2 ) 2 CHNH 2 CO 2 H, with methylcobalamin and methylcobinamide. [1±4] Methyl bis(dimethylglyoximato)cobalt(iii) and related complexes also convert thiols to thioethers [Eq. (1)]: [5] There are, however, a lack of precedents in the literature for similar conversions that do not involve organocobalt complexes. In this work, new reactions of rhenium complexes have been examined, and sound evidence for the analogous conversion has now been obtained.With 1,2-ethanedithiol (edtH 2 ), however, a quite different result was obtained. As Re VII was reduced to Re V , one edtH 2 molecule was transformed to HS(CH 2 ) 2 SMe, which remains coordinated to the rhenium(v) center through both sulfur atoms in a k 2 fashion [Eq. (3)]:Details of the synthesis and characterization of the dark-red complex 1 are given in the Experimental Section. A similar reaction starting with [MeReO(edt)(PPh 3 )] (3) [7] gave the same product in lower yield. Crystals of 1 suitable for X-ray diffraction could not be obtained. We have formulated the composition of 1 to be [ReO(k 2 -edt)(k 2 -edtMe)] based on elemental analysis and spectroscopic data. An alternative formulation as an organorhenium(vii) compound, [Me-ReO(edt) 2 ], could not be ruled out by these data. However, the evidence is in favor of structure 1 as the CH 3 resonance appears at d ¼ 1.90 ppm, which is further downfield than would be expected for a methyl group coordinated to a Re VII center. Indeed, the proposed mechanism suggests that [MeReO(edt) 2 ] lies on the pathway to 1.Chemical methods were therefore used to obtain information about the molecular structure of 1, particularly with respect to whether the MeÀRe interaction present in the starting material is retained. The reaction of 1 with H 2 O 2 in wet acetonitrile gave ReO 4 À ions, which are easily recognized from the characteristic UV spectrum. The same product was obtained from 5, another compound that lacks a MeÀRe bond. In contrast, several compounds that do contain a Me À Re bond (2, 3, and 4) cleanly reacted with H 2 O 2 to form COMMUNICATIONS