Dithioether ligands containing a 2,6-disubstituted pyridine linker with two thioether-heterocycle arms.

The structure of 2,6-bis­(2-pyridyltsulfanyl­methyl)pyridine (pytmp), (I), C17H15N3S2, presents a twisted conformation, with the three planar moieties almost perpendicular to each other. The structures of two related derivatives, namely 2,6-bis­(6-methyl-2-pyridylsulfanyl­methyl)pyridine (mpytmp), (II), C19H19N3S2, and 2,6-bis­(4-methyl-2-pyrimidylsulfanyl­methyl)­pyridine (mprtmp) n-pentane hemisolvate, (III), C17H17N5S2·0.5C5H12, present extended planar fragments with just one quasi-perpendicular aryl­sulfanyl­methyl side arm, such that the mol­ecules are folded in an L-shaped conformation. All three conformations appear different from those adopted by similar compounds, demonstrating the great flexibility of such species, although such differences in conformational behaviour might drive specific coordination modes.