A convenient synthesis of some symmetrical and unsymmetrical diarylmethyl sulfur and selenium compounds:: X-ray crystal structure of diphenylmethylseleno-2-propene and bis[p-chlorophenyl(phenyl)methyl] diselenide

A number of novel and synthetically important symmetrical and unsymmetrical diarylmethyl sulfur and selenium compounds have been synthesized and characterized with the help of elemental analysis and various spectroscopic techniques. The methodology employs sodium borohydride in ethanol-DMF for E-E bond cleavage (where E = S, Se) at room temperature and gives satisfactory yield of the titled compounds. Molecular structure of bis[p-chlorophenyl(phenyl)methyl] diselenide (3) and diphenylmethylseleno-2-propene 7 has been established with the help of single crystal X-ray analysis. The compound (3) is triclinic and crystallizes into P1 space group, whereas the compound 7 is monoclinic with P2(1)/C space group. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.