S,C- and S,S-coupling via dithiolate transfer reactions from tin to nickel complexes.

Dithiolate tin(iv) complexes [SnMe(2)(SS)] (SS = 4,5-dimercapto-1,3-dithiol-2-thione, dmit; 1,2-benzene dithiolate, bdt; and 3,4-toluene dithiolate, tdt) are used as transmetallating agents in the reaction with nickel derivatives [NiBrR'(PR(3))(2)] (R' = mesitylene (Mes) and 2,4,6-trisisopropylphenyl (Trip), and PR(3) = PPh(3) and PPh(2)Me). The reaction results in the isolation of different complexes with a great variety of stoichiometries, including mono-, di- and trinuclear nickel complexes with the general formulae: [Ni(SS)(PR(3))](2), [Ni(Mes)(SS-Mes)(PR(3))], [Ni(SS-Mes)(2)] and [Ni(3)(bdt)(3)(PPh(2)Me)(2)], and the organic compounds {dmit(Mes)}(2), {dmit(Trip)}(2), {dbt(Mes)(2)} and {tbt(Mes)(2)} as a consequence of S,C- and S,S-coupling processes. In the case of [Ni(Mes)(dmitMes)(PPh(2)Me)], {dmit(Trip)}(2), [Ni(3)(bdt)(3)(PPh(2)Me)(2)] and [Ni(bdtMes)(2)] the X-ray analyses are also presented to confirm the proposed structures.