Synthesis and X-ray structure of an H2S complex, RuCl2(P-N)(P(p-tolyl)(3))(SH2) (P-N=o-(diphenylphosphino)-N,N-dimethylaniline)

The interaction of transition metal complexes with H2S continues to attract attention. Such chemistry is of relevance in the biological sulfur cycle, in the formation of ores, in hydrodesulfurization catalysis, and in the use of H2S as a source of Hz and elemental sulfur (or organosulfur compounds). Literature dealing with these topics is plentiful and can be traced through recent references.(1,2) However, isolation and characterization of metal complexes containing H2S remain challenging,(2,3) as such species tend to undergo oxidative addition reactions to give products with SH ligands or bridged or terminal sulfide,(4) and only recently has an H2S complex been characterized crystallographically.(2) This was the structure reported by Sellmann et al. of the Ru(II)-complex Ru(SH2)(PPh3)('S-4'). THF ('S-4' = 1,2-bis[(2-mercaptophenyl)thio]ethane(2-)) formed by the reaction of the polymeric complex [Ru(PPh3)('S-4')](x) with liquid H2S at -70 degrees C; the reaction with H2S gas at room temperature in THF resulted in a mixture of the bridging sulfide complex [(mu-S-2){Ru(PPh3)('S-4')}(2)] and other uncharacterized products depicting the more typical reactivity of H2S with transition metal complexes.(2)