Transition metals polysulfide complexes

Polysulfides have been prepared with many different types of cations, both monoatomic Hke alkah metal ions and polyatomic Hke ammonium or substituted ammonium or phosphonium ions. In this chapter only those salts will be discussed in detail which contain univalent main-group cations although a large number of transition metal polysulfido complexes have been prepared [7-9]. 

Metal polysulfido complexes have attracted much interest not only from the viewpoint of fundamental chemistry but also because of their potential for applications. Various types of metal polysulfido complexes have been reported as shown in Fig. 1. The diversity of the structures results from the nature of sulfur atoms which can adopt a variety of coordination environments (mainly two- and three-coordination) and form catenated structures with various chain lengths. On the other hand, transition metal polysulfides have attracted interest as catalysts and intermediates in enzymatic processes and in catalytic reactions of industrial importance such as the desulfurization of oil and coal. In addition, there has been much interest in the use of metal polysulfido complexes as precursors for metal-sulfur clusters. The chemistry of metal polysulfido complexes has been studied extensively, and many reviews have been published [1-10]. 

Draganjac M, Rauchfuss TB (1985) Transition metal polysulfides Coordination compounds with purely inorganic chelate ligands. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 24 742-757 DuBois MR (1989) Catalytic applications of transition metal complexes. Chem Rev 89 1-9 Ansari MA, Ibers JA (1990) Soluble selenides and tellurides. Coord Chem Rev 100 223-266... 

Reactions of metal halides with polysulfide dianions are useful methods for the synthesis of polysulfido complexes of main group elements and transition metals. In most of these reactions, similarly to other methods, the chain lengths and coordination types of the polysulfide ligands depend on the other ligands coordinated to the metal, on the ratio between the metal and sulfur, on the reaction temperature, and other parameters. 

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