The Activation of Sulfur Hexafluoride at Highly Reduced Low-Coordinate Nickel Dinitrogen Complexes

The greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride is the common standard example in the literature of a very inert inorganic small molecule that is even stable against O-2 in an electric discharge. However, a reduced -diketiminate nickel species proved to be capable of converting SF6 into sulfide and fluoride compounds at ambient standard conditions. The fluoride product complex features an unprecedented [NiF](+) unit, where the Ni atom is only three-coordinate, while the sulfide product exhibits a rare almost linear [Ni(-S)Ni](2+) moiety. The reaction was monitored applying (HNMR)-H-1, IR and EPR spectroscopic techniques resulting in the identification of an intermediate nickel complex that gave insight into the mechanism of the eight-electron reduction of SF6.