Inserting sulfur donor ligands in axial positions of an extended trinickel chain

The stoichiometric reaction of [Ni3(dpa)4(CH3CN)2](PF6)2 (1) with NaSPh in dichloromethane, affords the linear trinuclear complex Ni3(dpa)4(SPh)2 (2) in good yield and excellent purity (dpa is the anion of 2,2′-dipyridylamine). This compound represents the first extended metal atom chain (EMAC) with sulfur-containing axial ligands and was characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, elemental analysis, ESI–MS, UV–vis spectrum and magnetic susceptibility measurements.