Chalcogen-Nitrogen Chains and Polymers

Polymer and chain formation is another property of chalcogen-nitrogen compounds that distinguishes them from their oxygen analogues. In addition to the unique, superconducting poly(sulfur nitride) (SN) (1.24) (Section 14.2), a variety of poly(thiazyl) chains such as RS5N4R (1.25) (Section 14.3) have been characterized. Interest in these chains stems from their possible use as models for the behaviour of (SN) and as components in molecular materials, e.g., as molecular wires. 

9 Chalcogen-Nitrogen Compounds with the Chalcogen in Higher Oxidation States 

The accessibility of the +4 and +6 oxidation states for sulfur and, to a lesser extent, selenium gives rise to both acyclic and cyclic molecules that have no parallels in N-O chemistry. Thus there is an extensive chemistry of chalcogen diimides RN=E=NR (E = S, Se, Te) (Section 10.4). In the case of Te these unsaturated molecules form dimeric structures reflecting the increasing reluctance for the heavier chalcogens to form multiple bonds to nitrogen. The acyclic molecule N=Sp3, 

Goehring, Ergebnisse und Probleme der Chemie der Schwefelstickstoffverbindungen, Akadetnie-Verlag, Berlin (1957). 

The Inorganic Heterocyclic Chemistry of Sulfur, Nitrogen and Phosphorus, Academic Press, London (1980). 

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