Isolation and Characterization of a Non-Rigid Hexamethylbenzene-SO2+ Complex.

During our studies towards the preparation of the pentagonal-pyramidal hexamethylbenzene dication C6 (CH3 )62+ , we isolated the unprecedented dicationic species C6 (CH3 )6 SO2+  (AsF6- )2 from the reaction of hexamethylbenzene with a mixture of anhydrous HF, AsF5 , and liquid SO2 . This compound can be understood as a complex of unknown SO2+ with hexamethylbenzene. Herein, we report on its synthesis, molecular structure, and spectroscopic characterization.