The structure of N-methylbenzothiazole-2-selone dichloride: a novel 'zipper' arrangement of T-shaped molecules linked via intermolecular Cl-Cl contacts

The reaction of I mole equivalent of sulfuryl chloride with N-methylbenzoth iazole-2-selone, mbts, produces the yellow 1:1 addition compound, mbts(.)Cl (2), (1), which exhibits a T-shaped geometry with intermolecular CI-Cl inte ractions. These give rise to a novel 'zipper' packing arrangement of linear chains of CI-Se-Cl-CI-Se-Cl atoms in the crystalline state. Both T-shaped Cl-Se-Cl and linear Se-Cl . . . Cl moieties can be observed because of this ; the latter interaction being essentially ionic rather than charge transfe r. FT-Raman studies imply the presence of a green metastable isomer (2) of 1. Compound 1 represents the first structurally characterised 1:1 dichlorid e adduct of the form R2CSeCl2. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.