Simon J. A. Pope, Neil R. Champness and Gillian Reid
A series of chromium(III) thioether macrocyclic complexes of the form [CrX3([9]aneS3)], [CrX3([10]aneS3)], [(CrX3)2(µ-[18]aneS6)] (X = Cl or Br), [CrX2(14]aneS4)]PF6 and [CrX2([16]aneS4)]PF6 (X = Cl, Br or I) ([9]aneS3 = 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane, [10]aneS3 = 1,4,7-trithiacyclodecane, [18]aneS6 = 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexathiacyclooctadecane, [14]aneS4 = 1,4,8,11-tetrathiacyclotetradecane, [16]aneS4 = 1,5,9,13-tetrathiacyclohexadecane) has been prepared and characterised by IR and UV/VIS spectroscopy, microanalyses, and in some cases electrospray mass spectrometry. Chromium K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure studies have provided information on the Cr–X and Cr–S bond-length distributions in a selection of these compounds, and these, together with the relatively low Dq values derived from UV/VIS spectroscopy, confirm rather weak chromium(III)–thioether interactions in these unusual species involving hard metal and soft ligand combinations.