Incorporation of in situ generated 3,3'-(sulfane-diyl)bis-(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione) into a one-dimensional Cu(I) coordination polymer with sulfur-bridged {Cu(I) (4)S(10)} (n) central cores.

The reaction of [Cu(CH(3)CN)(4)](BF(4)) with 1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione {SC(3)H(4)(NMe)NH}, under aerobic conditions at room temperature, yielded an unusual one-dimensional coordination polymer, namely, catena-poly[[[(1-meth-yl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione-κS)copper(I)]-μ-(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione)-κ(2) S:S-copper(I)-μ-[3,3'-(sulfanedi-yl)bis-(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione)]-κ(5) S,S',S'':S,S''] bis-(tetra-fluorido-borate)], {[Cu(2)(C(4)H(8)N(2)S)(2)(C(8)H(14)N(4)S(3))](BF(4))(2)} (n) or [Cu(4)(κ(5):L (1)-N-S-N-L (1))(2)(κ(1):L (1)-NH)(2)(κ(2):L (1)-NH)(2)] (n) (BF(4))(4n) 1 [L (1) = SC(3) H(4)(NMe)NH] with sulfur-bridged {Cu(I) (4)S(10)} (n) central cores. The in situ generated bis-(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidinyl-2-thione) sulfide [{SC(3)H(4)(NMe)NSN(NMe)C(3)H(4)S; abbrev. L (1)-N-S-N-L (1)] ligand, in combin-ation with 1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione (L (1)-NH) ligands, construct this coordination polymer. Each Cu(I) ion is bonded to four sulfur donor atoms in a distorted tetra-hedral geometry and the formation of this polymer solely by sulfur donor atoms with {Cu(I) (4)S(10)} (n) central cores, is the first such example in copper-heterocyclic-2-thione chemistry.