A comparison of the coordination of two linkage isomers of bis(1-methylthioimidazolyl)methane to zinc salts

A structural comparison of the coordination chemistry of the two linkage isomeric forms of bis(1-methylthioimidazolyl)methane, [H2C(N-mt)2] (LS), and [H2C(S-mt)2] (LN) to a number of zinc complexes has been carried out. The complexes ZnX2LS and ZnX2LN (where X = Cl, Br and I) have all been prepared in good to high yields and have been characterised by spectroscopic and analytical methods. X-ray crystallography studies were also carried out on all of the newly prepared compounds, revealing κ2-SS and κ2-NN coordination modes for LS and LN containing complexes, respectively.