Novel formation of 1,2-dithiolane-3-thione from β-dithiolactone. Isolation of dithiolato-palladium and -platinum complexes

Sulfurization of β-dithiolactone (4) gave corresponding 1,2-dithiolane-3-thione (2a) via an ionic intermediate. Oxidation of β-dithiolactone 4 by m-CPBA afforded corresponding S-oxide (11), while dioxide (12) was obtained when 3 equiv of m-CPBA was used. Dithiolane-3-thione 2a reacted with ethylenebis(triphenylphosphine)platinum or tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium to afford the corresponding dithiolato-platinum (20) and dithiolato-palladium (21) complexes in good yields.