Reactions of cadmium(II) nitrate with 4-(trimethylammonio)benzenethiolate in the presence of N-donor ligands.

Reactions of Cd(NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O with TabHPF(6) (TabH = 4-(trimethylammonio)benzenethiol) and Et(3)N in the presence of NH(4)SCN and five other N-donor ligands such as 2,2'-bipyridine (2,2'-bipy), phenanthroline (phen), 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (2,9-dmphen), 2,6-bis(pyrazd-3-yl)pyridine (bppy) and 2,6-bis(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (bdmppy) gave rise to a family of Cd(II)/thiolate complexes of N-donor ligands, {Cd(2)(μ-Tab)(4)(NCS)(2)(2)·MeOH}(n) (1), Cd(2)(μ-Tab)(2)(L)(4)(4) (2: L = 2,2'-bipy; 3: L = phen), Cd(Tab)(2)(L)(2) (4: L = 2,9-dmphen; 5: L = bppy), and Cd(2)(μ-Tab)(2)(Tab)(2)(bdmppy)(PF(6))(8)·H(2)O (6·H(2)O). These compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra, UV-Vis spectra, (1)H NMR, electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. For 1, each Cd(NCS) fragment is connected to its equivalents via a pair of Tab bridges to a one-dimensional chain. For 2 and 3, two Cd(2,2'-bipy)(2) or Cd(phen)(2) units are linked by a pair of Tab bridges to form a cationic dimeric structure. The Cd atom in Cd(Tab)(2)(L) dication of 4 or 5 is coordinated by two Tab ligands and chelated by two N atoms from 2,9-dmphen (4) or three N atoms from bppy (5), forming a distorted tetrahedral (4) or trigonal bipyramidal (5) coordination geometry. For 6, each of two [Cd(Tab)(bdmppy)] fragments is linked to one [(Tab)Cd(μ-Tab)(2)Cd(Tab)] fragment via two Tab bridges to generate a unique cationic zigzag tetrameric structure where the Cd centers take a tetrahedral or a trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometry. The results may provide an interesting insight into mimicking the coordination spheres of the Cd(II) sites of metallothioneins and their interactions with various N-donor ligands encountered in nature.