Cleavage of Sn-C and S-C(alkyl) bonds on an organotin scaffold: synthesis and characterization of a novel organotin-sulfite cluster bearing methyltin- and dimethyltin fragments

Inorg Chem. 2010 May 17;49(10):4708-15. doi: 10.1021/ic100465u.

Abstract

Hydrolysis of the mixed-ligand dimethyltin(ethoxy)ethanesulfonate, [Me(2)Sn(OEt)(OSO(2)Et)](n) (1a) in moist hexane proceeds via disproportionation and partial cleavage of Sn-C and S-C bonds to afford a novel oxo-/hydroxo- organotin cluster of the composition [(Me(2)Sn)(MeSn)(4)(OSO(2)Et)(2)(OH)(4)(O)(2)(SO(3))(2)] (1) bearing both mono- and dimethyltin fragments and in situ generated sulfite (SO(3)(2-)) anion in the structural framework. On the other hand, similar reactions with analogous mixed ligand diorganotin precursors, [R(2)Sn(OR(1))(OSO(2)R(1))](n) (R = n-Bu, R(1) = Et (2a); R = Et, R(1) = Me (3a)), result in the formation of tetranuclear diorganotin clusters, [{(n-Bu(2)Sn)(2)(OH)(OSO(2)Et)}O](2) (2) and [(Et(2)Sn)(4)(OH)(O)(2)(OSO(2)Me)(3)] (3), respectively. The activation of the Sn-C or S-C bond is not observed in these cases. These findings provide a preliminary insight into the unusual reactivity of 1a under hydrolytic conditions.