Ligand-forced dimerization of copper(I)-olefin complexes bearing a 1,3,4-thiadiazole core

As an important class of heterocyclic compounds, 1,3,4-thiadiazoles have a broad range of potential applications in medicine, agriculture and materials chemistry, and were found to be excellent precursors for the crystal engineering of organometallic materials. The coordinating behaviour of allyl derivatives of 1,3,4-thiadiazoles with respect to transition metal ions has been little studied. Five new crystalline copper(I) π-complexes have been obtained by means of an alternating current electrochemical technique and have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. The compounds are bis[μ-5-methyl-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine]bis[nitratocopper(I)], [Cu₂(NO₃)₂(C₆H₉N₃S)₂], (1), bis[μ-5-methyl-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine]bis[(tetrafluoroborato)copper(I)], [Cu₂(BF₄)₂(C₆H₉N₃S)₂], (2), μ-aqua-bis{μ-5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine}bis[nitratocopper(I)], [Cu₂(NO₃)₂(C₅H₇N₃S₂)₂(H₂O)], (3), μ-aqua-(hexafluorosilicato)bis{μ-5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine}dicopper(I)-acetonitrile-water (2/1/4), [Cu₂(SiF₆)(C₅H₇N₃S₂)₂(H₂O)]·0.5CH₃CN·2H₂O, (4), and μ-benzenesulfonato-bis{μ-5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine}dicopper(I) benzenesulfonate-methanol-water (1/1/1), [Cu₂(C₆H₅O₃S)(C₅H₇N₃S₂)₂](C₆H₅O₃S)·CH₃OH·H₂O, (5). The structure of the ligand 5-methyl-N-(prop-2-en-1-yl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine (Mepeta), C₆H₉N₃S, was also structurally characterized. Both Mepeta and 5-[(prop-2-en-1-yl)sulfanyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-amine (Pesta) (denoted L) reveal a strong tendency to form dimeric {Cu₂L₂}²⁺ fragments, being attached to the metal atom in a chelating-bridging mode via two thiadiazole N atoms and an allylic C=C bond. Flexibility of the {Cu₂(Pesta)₂}²⁺ unit allows the Cu^I atom site to be split into two positions with different metal-coordination environments, thus enabling the competitive participation of different molecules in bonding to the metal centre. The Pesta ligand in (4) allows the Cu^I atom to vary between water O-atom and hexafluorosilicate F-atom coordination, resulting in the rare case of a direct Cu^I...FSiF₅^2- interaction. Extensive three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding patterns are formed in the reported crystal structures. Complex (5) should be considered as the first known example of a Cu^I(C₆H₅SO₃) coordination compound. To determine the hydrogen-bond interactions in the structures of (1) and (2), a Hirshfeld surface analysis has been performed.