Na+[Me3NB12Cl11]−·SO2: a rare example of a sodium–SO2 complex

Abstract

In the title compound, Na+[Me3NB12Cl11]−·SO2 [systematic name: sodium 1-(trimethylammonio)undecachloro-closo-dodecaborate sulfur dioxide], the SO2 molecule is η1-O-coordinated to the Na+ cation. Surprisingly, the SO2 molecule is more weakly bound to sodium than is found in other sodium–SO2 complexes and the SO2 molecule is essentially undistorted compared to the structure of free SO2. The Na+ cation has a coordination number of eight in a distorted twofold-capped trigonal prism and makes contacts to three individual boron cluster anions, resulting in an overall three-dimensional network. Although the number of known η1-O-coordinated SO2 complexes is growing, sodium-SO2 complexes are still rare.

Keywords

• boron cluster
• crystal structure
• sodium
• sulfur dioxide
• weakly coordinating anion