Synthesis and characterization of metal complexes of N-alkyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamates

Ammonium N-ethyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamate (L-1) and N-butyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamate (L-2), and their group 12 metal complexes formulated as Zn2L41, CcL(2)(1), HgL21, Zn2L42, CdL22, HgL22 have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the zinc complexes (Zn2L41 and Zn2L42) are also reported. Single crystal analyses of the two complexes revealed the presence of distorted trigonal bipyramidal and tetrahedral coordination geometry about the metal ions. The dithiocarbamate acts as bidentate chelating and bidentate bridging ligands between the metal ions giving centrosymmetric dimeric molecules. The apparent substitution of the ethyl substituents in L-1 by the butyl groups in L-2 results in profound change in structure. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.