Reactions of copper(I) halides with a series of thiosemicarbazone ligands (Htsc) in the presence of triphenylphosphine (Ph(3)P) in acetonitrile have yielded three types of complexes: (i) monomers, [CuX(eta1-S-Htsc)(Ph3P)2] [X, Htsc = I (1), Br (2), benzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (Hbtsc); I (5), Br (6), Cl (7), pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (Hpytsc)], (ii) halogen-bridged dimers, [Cu2(mu2-X)2(eta1-S-Htsc)2(Ph3P)2] [X, Htsc = Br (3), Hbtsc; I (8), furan-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (Hftsc); I (11), thiophene-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (Httsc)], and (iii) sulfur-bridged dimers, [Cu2X2(mu2-S-Htsc)2(Ph3P)2] [X, Htsc = Cl (4), Hbtsc; Br (9), Cl (10), pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (Hptsc); Br (12), Httsc]. All of these complexes have been characterized with the help of elemental analysis, IR, 1H, 13C, or 31P NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography (1-12). In all of the complexes, thiosemicarbazones are acting as neutral S-donor ligands in eta()S or mu2-S bonding modes. The Cu...Cu separations in the Cu(mu2-X)2Cu and Cu(mu2-S)2Cu cores lie in the ranges 2.981(1)-3.2247(6) and 2.813(1)-3.2329(8) Angstroms, respectively. The geometry around each Cu center in monomers and dimers may be treated as distorted tetrahedral. Ab initio density functional theory calculations on model monomeric and dimeric complexes of the simplest thiosemicarbazone [H2C=N-NH-C(S)-NH2, Htsc] have revealed that monomers and halogen-bridged dimers have similar stability and that sulfur-bridged dimers are stable only when halogen atoms are engaged in hydrogen bonding with the solvent of crystallization or H2O molecules.

Reaction of copper(I) iodide with pyridine-2-thione (2-SC5H4NH) and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe) in a CH3CN-CHCl3 mixture yielded a triangular cluster, [Cu3I3(mu2-P,P-dppe)3 (eta1-SC5H4NH)], 1. Similar reaction with 2-SC5H4NH and a series of diphosphanes, Ph2P-X-Ph2P {X = -CH2- (dppm), -(CH2)3- (dppp), -(CH2)4- (dppb), -CH=CH- (dppen)}, gave a novel iodo-bridged hexanuclear Cu(I) linear polymer,{Cu6(mu3-SC5H4NH)4 (mu2-SC5H4NH)2 (I4)(mu-I)2-}n x 2nCH3CN, 2. Reactions of copper(I) iodide/copper(I) bromide with 1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione (SC3H6N2) in a CH3CN-CHCl3 mixture yielded hexanuclear Cu(I) linear chain polymers, [{Cu6(mu3-SC3H6N2)2 (mu2-SC3H6N2)4X2 (mu-X)4}n] (X = Br, 4; I, 5). In compound 1, two iodide atoms and one dppe form the dinuclear Cu(mu2-I)2 (mu2-dppe)Cu core, and two dppe ligands bridge this core with the third Cu(I) center coordinated to 2-SC5H4NH via the S atom. The chain polymer 2 has a centrosymmetric hexanuclear central core, Cu6S6I4 (mu-I)2--, formed by dimerization of six-membered trinuclear motifs, Cu3(mu2-SC3H6N2)3I3 via (mu3-S) bonding modes of the thione ligand, and has four terminal and two bridging iodine atoms in trans-orientations. Linear chains are separated by the nonbonded acetonitrile molecules. In 4 and 5, three copper(I) bromide or copper(I) iodide moieties and three SC3H6N2 ligands combined via bridging S donor atoms to form the six-membered trinuclear Cu3(mu2-SC3H6N2)3I3 cores which polymerized via S and X atoms in a side-on fashion to form linear chain polymers, [{Cu6(mu3-SC3H6N2)2 (mu2-SC3H6N2)4X2(mu-X)4}n]. The (mu3-S) modes of bonding of neutral heterocyclic thioamides are first examples, as are trinuclear cluster and linear polymers rare examples in copper chemistry.

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