Sulfur-containing terpyridine derivatives: synthesis, coordination properties, and adsorption on the gold surface

Approaches to the synthesis of organic aurophilic ligands, viz., sulfur-containing 2,2′:6′,2’-terpyridine derivatives, were developed. Complexation reactions of the terpyridine ligands having thiophenol, diaryl disulfide, and alkyl aryl sulfide fragments with Co ⁱⁱ , Ni ⁱⁱ , and Rh ⁱⁱⁱ salts were studied. The structures of the coordination compounds obtained were established based on the elemental analysis data, density functional calculations, and electron spectroscopy. The structure of the complex of 4′-(4-methylsulfanyl)-2,2′:6′,2"-terpyridine with Ni(BF₄)₂ was also established by X-ray diffraction analysis. A method was proposed for the preparation of gold nanoparticle dimeric aggregates via coordination interactions of the ligands adsorbed on the gold nanoparticle surface with transition metal ions. A degree of nanoparticle aggregation upon their reaction with solutions of complex compounds of aurophilic nitrogen-containing ligands was determined by the concentration of the solution of the complex used.