The molecular and crystal structure of the l-proline-derived dithiocarbamatecarboxylate compound poly[tri--aqua-( -2-carboxylatopyrrolidine-1-carbodithioato)dipotassium], [K 2 (C 6 H 7 NO 2 S 2 )(H 2 O) 3 ] n or K 2 (SSC-NC 4 H 7 -COO)Á3H 2 O, has been determined. The dithiocarbamate moiety displays a unique coordination mode, comprising a 'side-on' -coordinated K + cation besides a commonly -chelated K + cation. By bridging coordination of the CSS group, COO group and water molecules, the K + cations are linked into a two-dimensional coordination polymer extending parallel to the ab plane. These layers are again interconnected by O-HÁ Á ÁS hydrogen bonds.
Chemical contextNatural amino acids react readily with carbon disulfide in an alkaline environment to give dithiocarbamate-functionalized carboxylates. Since the first report on a series of barium salts in the 1950s (Zahradnik, 1956), numerous transition metal complexes have been explored. More recently, various late transition metal complexes of this family have been investigated due to their biological activity (e.g. Giovagnini et al., 2005;Cachapa et al., 2006;Nagy et al., 2012). In most cases, the dithiocarbamate moiety acts as a classical small-bite chelate ligand, while the carboxylate group (often esterified) does not contribute to metal coordination. The structural chemistry of main group derivatives of dithiocarbamate-derived amino acids is much less explored, even though alkali metal and alkaline earth metal salts are frequently used as precursors for other metal complexes. A key intermediate in our ongoing reasearch on coordination polymers with dithiocarbamatecarboxylates is the l-proline-derived potassium salt K 2 (SSC-NC 4 H 7 -COO). This compound crystallizes from aqueous solution as a trihydrate, which has been structurally characterized in the course of this work.
Structural commentaryThe title compound, K 2 (SSC-NC 4 H 7 -COO)Á3H 2 O, crystallized as colourless plates in the orthorhombic space group ISSN 2056-9890 P2 1 2 1 2 1 , with one formula moiety in the asymmetric unit ( Fig. 1). One K atom (K2) is bonded in a typical chelating fashion by the CSS group, while K1 is coordinated 'side-on' to the CSS group, certainly under participation of the delocalized electrons. This rather uncommon coordination mode might be supported by additional coordination of a carboxylate O atom (O1) to K1. K1 adopts a low-symmetric seven-coordination by four carboxylate O atoms, two H 2 O molecules and the -coordinating CSS group. K2 is eight-coordinated by three S atoms and five H 2 O molecules (Fig. 2). Consequently, the full coordination mode of the carboxylate group is 3 -4 O,O 0 :O:O 0 , and the dithiocarbamate group adopts a 3 -6 S,S 0 ,C:S,S 0 :S coordination. One H 2 O molecule displays a 3 -coordination (O3) and the remaining two H 2 O molecules are coordinating in a -bridging mode (O4 and O5). The K-S distances at the -chelated K + cation (K2) are 3.2176 (8) and 3.2650 (9) Å , while the K-S separations at the -coordinated K + cation (K1) are signif...