Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.42, No.2, 383-388, 2003
The first oxygen-bonded sulfenate ion: Crystal and molecular structures of bis(ethylenediamine)(2-pyridinesulfenato-O)cobalt(III) and bis(ethylenediamine)(2-pyridinesulfinato-O)cobalt(III)
The first O-bonded sulfenate species [Co(en)(2)(py-So-O)](2+) has been synthesized by isomerization of its S-bonded linkage isomer, [Co(en)(2)(pyridine-2-sulfenate-S](2+). The sulfenate ion in both forms is stabilized by coordination to the electropositive cobalt(III) ion. The driving force for the formation of the O-bonded sulfenate linkage isomer comes from the four to five membered ring expansion which accompanies the rearrangement. Crystal structures of the green O-sulfenate confirm the formulation and reveal varying amounts of a cocrystallized O-bonded sulfinate diastereomer. The cations have essentially identical structures except for the extra oxygen in the O-sulfinate. Differences in packing of cations and perchlorates give rise to two different structural types for the salts, corresponding to sulfenate-rich and sulfinate-rich phases.