The chemistry of cadmium-thiocarboxylate derivatives: synthesis, structural features, and application as single source precursors for ternary sulfides.

: Novel heterobimetallic complexes [(PPh(3))(2)Cu(μ-SCOPh)(2)Cd(SCOPh)] (2a), [(PPh(3))(2)Cu(μ-SCOth)(2)Cd(SCOth)] (2b), [(PPh(3))(2)Ag(μ-SCOth)(2)Cd(SCOth)] (3a), [(PPh(3))(2)Ag(μ-SCOth)(2)Cd(H(2)O)(SCOth)] (3b), [(PPh(3))(2)Ag(μ-SCOPh)(2)Cd(SCOPh)] (3c), and a bimetallic complex [PPh(3)Cd(μ-SCOth)SCOth](2)·CH(2)Cl(2) (5) (th = thiophene) were prepared and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. A coordination polymer [Cd(SCOPh)(2)](n) (4) has also been characterized structurally that exhibited metal-like electrical conductivity. The heterobimetallic complexes on pyrolyzing under controlled conditions yielded ternary sulfides of composition CuCd(7)S(8), CuCd(10)S(11), Ag(2)Cd(8)S(9), and Ag(2)Cd(5)S(6), which have been characterized by SEM-EDX and X-ray diffractometry. Photophysical properties and electrical conductivities of the sulfides have also been studied.