The preparation and X-ray crystal structure of [Co(Ph₂SNH)₆]Cl₂ a homoleptic sulfimide complex exhibiting cooperative, directed hydrogen bonds between cations and anions

At ambient temperatures, in CH3CN, a six-fold excess of S,S-diphenylsulfimide (1) reacts with anhydrous CoCl2 to give [Co(Ph2SNH)(6)] Cl-2 (2), the first example of a homoleptic sulfimide complex. In addition to the expected octahedral coordination geometry, X-ray crystallography reveals significant directed hydrogen bonding from the N-H groups on the ligands to the chlorides. Thus the three N-H bonds on opposite coordination faces act as cooperative hydrogen-bonding pockets for the chloride counterions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.