O Atom Abstraction from (Am)5Co-S(O)nR2+
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 38, No. 23, 1999 5233
Cl2,5,17 (2a)(ClO4)2,17 (3a)ClO4,18 (4a)(ClO4)2,7 and (5a)(ClO4)2.18
Compound (6a)(ClO4)2 was prepared by a variant of the literature
method,19 in which 6 M HOTf (CF3SO3H) was added instead of
concentrated HClO4 and cobalt triflate used in place of the perchlorate.
Argon was passed through to evaporate the remaining THF, giving a
precipitate that was taken up in the minimum amount of water. Cooling
gave a tarry residue, which was again dissolved in the minimum amount
of water and filtered. Excess sodium perchlorate was then added;
crystals formed on allowing this preparation to stand overnight at 10
°C. The following compounds were prepared analogously: (7a)(ClO4)2,
(8a)(ClO4)2. The following analyses were carried out:
seems as if ionic charge on the cobalt participant is nearly
without effect, or at least not of a constant influence. What is
important in determining the rates of the first step of reaction
11 relative to the second is, or appears to be, the existence or
absence of an electronegative oxygen atom on the sulfur to
which the oxygen is being transferred. These reactions, best
regarded as the attack of a sulfur nucleophile on an oxygen of
the η2-peroxide group, are highly sensitive to the extra oxygen
atom, the reactivity being reduced accordingly.
The nature of the S-O bond in sulfoxides has been debated.13
The issue centers on whether a true (full) double bond exists.
In view of the large dipole moments of dialkyl- and diarylsul-
foxides, little π-bonding may exist.13 Consequently these bonds
are weaker than in, for example, phosphine and arsine oxides.
Moreover, the typical bond strength of a sulfoxide is ca. 25
kcal mol-1 weaker than that of a sulfone. An exception arises
when an electronegative atom or group is placed on the sulfur,
which strengthens the S-O bond; for example, F2SO and
(MeO)2SO have bond strengths of ca. 118 kcal, compared to
87 kcal for M.14
The stability of the sulfenatocobalt(III) complexes has been
attributed, at least in part, to π back-bonding of the (t2g)6
configuration into a vacant π orbital on sulfur,5b in competition
with the O f S π bonding. This competition for vacant orbitals
on sulfur makes it seem reasonable that the sulfenatocobalt
complexes are more reactive than organic sulfoxides. This effect
manifests itself elsewhere. Sulfenatochromium(III) complexes,
not stabilized in this fashion, are not formed upon oxidation of
the thiolato complexes.5b In addition, this orbital picture explains
the basicity of the oxygen atom of the sulfenato complexes,
reaction 8, despite the overall 2+ ionic charge.
found (calcd)
compound
C
H
N
(5a)(ClO4)2 (C8H24N5SCoCl2O8) 19.75 (20.02) 4.83 (5.04) 14.22 (14.59)
(6a)(ClO4)2 (C10H22N5SCoCl2O8) 24.34 (23.92) 4.23 (4.42) 13.69 (13.95)
(7a)(ClO4)2 (C10H21N5SCoCl3O8) 22.17 (22.38) 3.54 (3.94) 12.74 (13.05)
(8a)(ClO4)2 (C11H24N4SCoCl2O8) 25.70 (25.59) 4.46 (4.65) 12.87 (13.56)
Perchlorate complexes are convenient for isolation, but are entirely
unsuited for these studies because reaction 2 occurs readily. The thiolato
complexes were stirred with Dowex 1-X8 anion-exchange resin in the
chloride ion form for at least 10 min. Sulfenato complexes are so soluble
that, except for (1b)Cl2, crystallizing them from solution is difficult.
They were formed in solution by oxidation with hydrogen peroxide5
once the resin had been removed by filtration. In the case of solution
complexes 2b, 3b, 4b, and 5b, the ca. 2 mM solution was treated with
hydrogen peroxide; it was added in 80% of the requisite quantity to
avoid overoxidation. Complexes 6b, 7b, and 8b were converted at the
ca. 10 mM level to the sulfenato complex in solution, which was diluted
to 2 mM and converted to the chloride form by the ion-exchange
procedure described previously.
Kinetic Studies. Rate constants were determined spectrophotometri-
cally at 25.0 ( 0.1 °C. In all the kinetics experiments in aqueous
solution the ionic strength was adjusted to 1.00 M with HCl and LiCl.
Stock solutions of MTO in 1.00 M HCl were prepared daily and used
within 24 h. The MTO concentration was checked by its UV
With that in mind, we return to the principal subject. Oxygen
transfer from the SO/SO2 group, attached to cobalt(III) or not,
can also be depicted as a nucleophilic reaction in which the
oxygen attacks the d2 rhenium(V) center. The rhenium(V) center
is surely electropositive; oxygen attack on it will be more
favored for the sulfenate (lacking a second electronegative
oxygen atom) over the sulfinate.
spectrum: λmax ) 239 and 270 nm (ꢀ ) 1900 and 1300 L mol-1 cm-1
,
respectively). The UV-vis spectra of the thiolato and sulfenato
complexes are given in Table S-1.
Control experiments were performed to show that there is no
uncatalyzed reaction between the sulfenato complexes and hypophos-
phorous acid. In a few reactions, the sulfenatocobalt(III) complex was
used in excess. In such cases either MTO or H2P(O)OH was added
last, and the disappearance of the cobalt complex monitored at 360
nm, where it has an intense absorption band (Table S-1). More
commonly, the solution of CH3ReO2 was prepared first, monitoring
the solution at 290 nm, and waiting about 4 half-times for reaction 4.
The sulfenate complex was then added, and the kinetics monitored at
λmax ) 360-372 nm. Concentrations used were 50 mM H2P(O)OH,
0.22 mM total rhenium, and 0.010-0.015 mM cobalt. In a few
experiments buildup of the thiolate complex was monitored at 282 nm.
Data were analyzed according to first-order kinetics, eq 7. In the
case of 3b the initial rate method was used. The absorbance values
were converted to concentrations, and the values fit to a ninth-order
polynomial, which gives the initial rate Vi. The initial rate was obtained
by dividing Vi by [3b]0. The Vi of a polynomial function of 4-9 terms
proved largely immaterial, although the scatter of the initial rates so
calculated was ca. 8-10%.
Experimental Section
Materials. High-purity water was obtained by passing laboratory-
distilled water through a Millipore-Q water purification system. Many
substances were obtained from commercial sources, although certain
disulfides, 2-amino-4-chlorophenyl disulfide and 2-amino-4-methylphe-
nyl disulfide, were prepared from a literature procedure in which
dinitrotrisulfides were first obtained from 4-chloro-3-nitrotoluene or
2,5-dichloronitrobenzene.15 The substituted dinitrodisulfides bis(2-
amino-4-methylphenyl) trisulfide and bis(2-amino-4-chlorophenyl)
trisulfide were reduced with LiAlH4.16 The reaction in ether was
quenched with a minimum amount of water and then filtered. The
substituted disulfides were recovered once the ether was removed, and
the thiol was oxidized by air. No IR bands were observed in the S-H
region, 2550-2600 cm-1, indicating complete oxidation.
Thiolates and sulfenates were prepared according to literature
procedures or slight modifications thereof. Caution; some of the
compounds were isolated as perchlorate salts; although no problems
were encountered, the possibility of explosion hazard should be noted.
Chart 1 shows the sulfenate series; an analogous series of thiolates (a)
and sulfinates (c) can be considered. The following compounds were
synthesized by literature methods5,17 and isolated: (1a)Cl2,5,17 (1b)-
Spectrophotometric Titrations. The UV-vis spectra of selected
sulfenatocobalt complexes were recorded at different H3O+ concentra-
tions in the range 0.1-1.0 M, with the ionic strength adjusted to 1.00
M. The data, mostly in the region 360-367 nm, were fit to an equation
that describes the equilibrium in reaction 8 in terms of the acid
concentration, the total cobalt concentration, and the molar absorptivities
(13) Oae, S. Organic Sulfur Chemistry; Structure and Mechanism; CRC
Press: Boca Raton, FL, 1991.
(14) Sargeson, A. M.; Searle, G. H. Inorg. Chem. 1967, 6, 787.
(15) Gupta, R. R.; Ojha, K. G.; Kalwania, G. S.; Kumar, M. Heterocycles
1980, 14, 1145.
(16) Palmer, P. J.; Trigg, R. B.; Warrington, J. V. J. Med. Chem. 1971,
14, 248.
(18) Lane, R. H.; Sedor, F. A.; Gilroy, M. J.; Eisenhardt, P. F.; Bennett, J.
P. J.; Ewall, R. X.; Bennett, L. E. Inorg. Chem. 1977, 16, 93-101.
(19) Dickman, M. H.; Doedens, R. J.; Deutsch, E. Inorg. Chem. 1980, 19,
945-950.
(20) Lowry, T. H.; Richardson, K. S. Mechanism and Theory in Organic
Chemistry; Harper Collins: New York, 1987; p 297.
(17) Nosco, D. L.; Deutsch, E. Inorg. Synth. 1982, 21, 19.