Design and synthesis of methyl 2-{[4-phenyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]sulfanyl}acetate (phpy2NS) as a ligand for complexes of Group 12 elements: structural assessment and hydrogen-bonded supramolecular assembly analysis

The reaction of 2-cyanopyridine with N-phenylthiosemicarbazide afforded 2-[amino(pyridin-2-yl) methylidene]-N-phenylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide (Ham4ph) and crystals of 4-phenyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione (pyph3NS, 1, C13H10N4S). Crystals of methyl 2-{[4-phenyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl]sulfanyl}acetate (phpy2NS, 2, C16H14N4O2S), derived from 1, were obtained by the reaction of Ham4ph with chloroacetic acid, followed by the acid-catalyzed esterification of the carboxylic acid with methyl alcohol. Crystals of bis(methanol-kappa O) bis(methyl 2-{[4-phenyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl-kappa N-2(1),N-5]sulfanyl}acetato)zinc(II)/cadmium(II) hexabromidocadmate( II), [Zn0.76Cd0.24(C16H14N4O2S)(2)(CH3OH)(2)][Cd2Br6] or [Zn0.76Cd0.24-(phpy2NS)(2)(MeOH)(2)][Cd2Br6], 3, and dichlorido(methyl 2-{[4-phenyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl-kappa N-2(1),N-5]sulfanyl}acetato)mercury(II), [HgCl2(C-16-H14N4O2S)] or [Hg(phpy2NS)Cl-2], 4, were synthesized using ligand 2 and CdBr2 or HgCl2, respectively. The molecular and supramolecular structures of the compounds were studied by X-ray diffractometry. The asymmetric unit of 3 is formed from CdBr3 and M(phpy2NS)(MeOH) units, where the metal centre M has a 76% occupancy of Zn-II and 24% of Cd-II. The M2+ centre of the cation, located on a crystallographic inversion centre, is hexacoordinated and appears as a slightly distorted octahedral [MN4O2](2+) cation. The Cd centre of the anion is coordinated by two terminal bromide ligands and two bridging bromide ligands that generate [Cd2Br6](2-) cadmium-bromide clusters. These clusters display crystallographic inversion symmetry forming two edge-shared tetrahedra and serve as agents that direct the structure in the formation of supramolecular assemblies. In mononuclear complex 4, the coordination geometry around the Hg2+ ion is distorted tetrahedral and comprises two chloride ligands and two N-atom donors from the phpy2NS ligand, viz. one pyridine N atom and the other from triazole. In the crystal packing, all four compounds exhibit weak intermolecular interactions, which facilitate the formation of three-dimensional architectures. Along with the noncovalent interactions, the structural diversity in the complexes can be attributed to the metal centre and to the coordination geometry, as well as to its ionic or neutral character.