Unprecedented Inequivalent Metal Coordination Environments in a Mixed-Ligand Dicobalt Complex

Bimetallic complexes of the transition metals containing mixed diimine and dithiolate ligands are of fundamental interest on account of their various magnetic and electronic properties. Almost always, such complexes are isolated as species in which both the metal centers are in identical coordination environments – this means that the two metals often have identical redox properties. In contrast, bimetallic complexes of the first row transition metals where the two metals are in dissimilar coordination environments are exceedingly rare, and are only known for nickel. Herein, we report the first ever example of a mixed-diimine/dithiolate dicobalt complex where the two cobalt centers are in different coordination environments. The synthesis of this compound is straightforward and high-yielding, and produces a complex in which the two cobalt centers display very different redox properties.