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fac-Tris(di­methyl sulfoxide-κO)tris­­(thio­cyanato-κN)iron(III)

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aUnité de recherche de chimie de l'environnement et moléculaire structurale, Université Constantine 1, Frères Mentouri, Constantine, 25000, Algeria
*Correspondence e-mail: [email protected]

Edited by M. Weil, Vienna University of Technology, Austria (Received 26 May 2026; accepted 3 June 2026; online 12 June 2026)

The title complex, [Fe(SCN)3(C2H6OS)3], was obtained under solvothermal conditions. The asymmetric unit contains one neutral mol­ecule in which the central FeIII atom exhibits a distorted octa­hedral coordination environment. The three N-bonded thio­cyanato ligands and the three O-bonded dimethyl sulfoxide ligands adopt a fac configuration. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds link the complexes into centrosymmetric dimers that are arranged in layers parallel to (001).

3D view (loading...)
[Scheme 3D1]
Chemical scheme
[Scheme 1]

Structure description

The reaction that led to the serendipitous crystallization of the title complex, Fe(NCS)3(DMSO)3 (DMSO is di­methyl­sulfoxide), (I), was originally designed for the solvothermal synthesis of a heteroleptic iron complex, with aceto­nitrile serving both as solvent and nitrile substrate for a possible in situ azide–nitrile cyclo­addition leading to a tetra­zole-containing ligand.

The asymmetric unit of (I) contains one neutral complex (Fig. 1[link]). The FeIII atom is in a distorted octa­hedral environment, coordinated by three N atoms from thio­cyanato ligands (N1, N2, N3) and three O atoms from DMSO ligands (O1, O2, O3). The O-bound coordination mode of DMSO is well documented for metal cations classified as ‘hard' according to the Pearson (1963View full citation) concept, such as FeIII. The Fe—N distances between 1.997 (4) and 2.035 (4) Å and the Fe—O distances between 2.031 (3) and 2.043 (3) Å (Table 1[link]) are consistent with analogous iron(III) iso­thio­cyanate complexes reported by Wang et al. (2003View full citation). The configuration around the FeIII atom is fac, resulting from the three N-bonded thio­cyanato ligands and the three O-bonded DMSO ligands occupying opposite triangular faces of the octa­hedron. The thio­cyanato ligands are slightly bent, with Fe—N—C angles between 155.5 (4) and 170.6 (4)° and nearly linear N≡C—S angles between 177.3 (4) and 179.3 (4)°. The methyl groups of each of the three DMSO ligands are in an eclipsed conformation relative to each other.

Table 1
Selected geometric parameters (Å, °)

Fe—O3 2.031 (3) Fe—O2 2.041 (3)
Fe—N1 2.035 (4) Fe—N3 2.016 (4)
Fe—O1 2.043 (3) Fe—N2 1.997 (4)
       
O3—Fe—N1 174.70 (13) O2—Fe—O1 88.64 (11)
O3—Fe—O1 87.64 (12) N3—Fe—O3 90.20 (15)
O3—Fe—O2 85.20 (11) N3—Fe—O1 177.81 (14)
N1—Fe—O1 89.85 (14) N2—Fe—O2 175.50 (13)
N1—Fe—O2 90.08 (13) N2—Fe—N3 92.13 (15)
[Figure 1]
Figure 1
The mol­ecular structure of the title compound with displacement ellipsoids drawn at the 50% probability level.

In the crystal of (I), individual mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds (Table 2[link]) into centrosymmetric dimers that are arranged in layers parallel to (001) (Fig. 2[link]).

Table 2
Hydrogen-bond geometry (Å, °)

D—H⋯A D—H H⋯A DA D—H⋯A
C6—H6A⋯S31i 0.96 2.84 3.751 (6) 159
Symmetry code: (i) Mathematical equation.
[Figure 2]
Figure 2
Crystal packing of the title compound in a projection along [010]. The coordination environment around the FeIII atoms is shown in polyhedral representation; red dashed lines indicate weak C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds.

Several crystal structures of iron(III) thio­cyanate complexes and related metal complexes containing oxygen-donor co-ligands have been reported over the past decades. The title complex is most closely related to the fac-tris­(dimethyl sulfoxide)(thio­cyanato)­scandium(III) complex crystallizing in the ortho­rhom­bic space group Pna21, Z = 4, a = 14.583 (2), b = 14.728 (2), c = 9.849 (2) Å, V = 2115.4 (6) Å3 (Chenskaya et al., 2000View full citation). Both structures comprise mononuclear octa­hedral complexes featuring three N-bonded thio­cyanato ligands and three O-bonded dimethyl sulfoxide ligands with only minor differences in bond lengths reflecting the different nature of the central metal ion. Other related complexes include thio­cyanate/DMSO-containing lanthanide compounds (Bu et al., 2002View full citation; Li et al., 2004View full citation; Miranda et al., 2004View full citation; Ilichev et al., 2023View full citation). However, to the best of our knowledge, no mononuclear iron(III) complex containing both N-bonded thio­cyanato ligands and O-bonded dimethyl sulfoxide ligands has been reported to date.

Synthesis and crystallization

Potassium thio­cyanate (2 mmol, 0.199 g) and iron(II) sulfate hepta­hydrate (1 mmol, 0.278 g) were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (10 ml) in the presence of ascorbic acid as a reducing agent, and the mixture was stirred for 20 min at room temperature. Aceto­nitrile was present in the reaction medium as the nitrile source. Sodium azide (0.5 mmol, 0.033 g) was dissolved separately in a minimum volume of distilled water and added to the above solution. The reaction mixture was transferred into a 23 ml PTFE-lined stainless-steel autoclave, sealed, and heated at 393 K for 72 h, then allowed to cool slowly to room temperature. Orange prismatic crystals of the title compound were collected by filtration, washed with cold DMSO, and air-dried.

Refinement

Crystal data, data collection, and structure refinement details are summarized in Table 3[link].

Table 3
Experimental details

Crystal data
Chemical formula [Fe(SCN)3(C2H6OS)3]
Mr 464.47
Crystal system, space group Triclinic, PMathematical equation
Temperature (K) 150
a, b, c (Å) 7.980 (4), 9.001 (6), 14.340 (7)
α, β, γ (°) 82.233 (18), 87.868 (17), 86.16 (3)
V3) 1017.8 (9)
Z 2
Radiation type Mo Kα
μ (mm−1) 1.37
Crystal size (mm) 0.20 × 0.15 × 0.10
 
Data collection
Diffractometer Bruker APEXII CCD
Absorption correction Multi-scan (SADABS; Krause et al., 2015View full citation)
Tmin, Tmax 0.632, 0.746
No. of measured, independent and observed [I > 2σ(I)] reflections 6890, 3801, 2424
Rint 0.034
(sin θ/λ)max−1) 0.610
 
Refinement
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)], wR(F2), S 0.044, 0.115, 0.98
No. of reflections 3801
No. of parameters 205
H-atom treatment H-atom parameters constrained
Δρmax, Δρmin (e Å−3) 0.35, −0.36
Computer programs: SMART and, SAINT (Bruker, 2009View full citation), SHELXS (Sheldrick, 2008View full citation), SHELXL (Sheldrick, 2015View full citation), OLEX2 (Dolomanov et al., 2009View full citation) and DIAMOND (Putz & Brandenburg, 2010View full citation), publCIF (Westrip, 2010View full citation).

Structural data


Computing details top

fac-Tris(dimethyl sulfoxide-κO)tris(thiocyanato-κN)iron(III) top
Crystal data top
[Fe(SCN)3(C2H6OS)3]Z = 2
Mr = 464.47F(000) = 478
Triclinic, P1Dx = 1.516 Mg m3
a = 7.980 (4) ÅMo Kα radiation, λ = 0.71073 Å
b = 9.001 (6) ÅCell parameters from 295 reflections
c = 14.340 (7) Åθ = 2.9–22.3°
α = 82.233 (18)°µ = 1.37 mm1
β = 87.868 (17)°T = 150 K
γ = 86.16 (3)°Prism, orange
V = 1017.8 (9) Å30.20 × 0.15 × 0.10 mm
Data collection top
Bruker APEXII CCD
diffractometer
3801 independent reflections
Radiation source: sealed tube2424 reflections with I > 2σ(I)
Graphite monochromatorRint = 0.034
Detector resolution: 8 pixels mm-1θmax = 25.7°, θmin = 3.5°
φ and ω scansh = 79
Absorption correction: multi-scan
(SADABS; Krause et al., 2015)
k = 1010
Tmin = 0.632, Tmax = 0.746l = 1717
6890 measured reflections
Refinement top
Refinement on F2Primary atom site location: structure-invariant direct methods
Least-squares matrix: fullHydrogen site location: inferred from neighbouring sites
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.044H-atom parameters constrained
wR(F2) = 0.115 w = 1/[\s2(Fo2) + (0.0546P)2]
where P = (Fo2 + 2Fc2)/3
S = 0.98(Δ/σ)max < 0.001
3801 reflectionsΔρmax = 0.35 e Å3
205 parametersΔρmin = 0.35 e Å3
0 restraints
Special details top

Experimental. Single crystals were obtained by solvothermal synthesis at 393 K for 72 h in a PTFE-lined stainless steel autoclave. Reflections 0 0 1, 0 1 0 and 1 1 1 were affected by the beamstop and have been excluded from refinement using OMIT instructions in SHELXL. Data were truncated to 0.82 Ang resolution (SHEL 50 0.82 instruction) to improve data quality and reduce noise at high theta angles.

Geometry. All esds (except the esd in the dihedral angle between two l.s. planes) are estimated using the full covariance matrix. The cell esds are taken into account individually in the estimation of esds in distances, angles and torsion angles; correlations between esds in cell parameters are only used when they are defined by crystal symmetry. An approximate (isotropic) treatment of cell esds is used for estimating esds involving l.s. planes.

Refinement. Refinement of F2 against ALL reflections. The weighted R-factor wR and goodness of fit S are based on F2, conventional R-factors R are based on F, with F set to zero for negative F2. The threshold expression of F2 > 2\s(F2) is used only for calculating R-factors(gt) etc. and is not relevant to the choice of reflections for refinement. R-factors based on F2 are statistically about twice as large as those based on F, and R-factors based on ALL data will be even larger. Reflections 0 0 1, 0 1 0 and 1 1 1 were excluded from the refinement as they were affected by the beamstop (OMIT instructions in SHELXL). Data were truncated to d_min = 0.82 Ang (SHEL 50 0.82 instruction) to improve data quality and reduce noise at high theta angles.

Fractional atomic coordinates and isotropic or equivalent isotropic displacement parameters (Å2) top
xyzUiso*/Ueq
Fe0.30529 (6)0.47954 (6)0.24808 (4)0.03937 (18)
S10.26516 (13)0.69120 (12)0.05193 (7)0.0482 (3)
O30.3939 (3)0.6441 (3)0.31306 (19)0.0492 (7)
S30.28122 (13)0.73722 (13)0.37470 (8)0.0525 (3)
S20.09552 (12)0.56090 (13)0.23945 (8)0.0491 (3)
N10.2014 (4)0.3294 (4)0.1769 (3)0.0585 (10)
O10.3801 (3)0.5967 (3)0.12312 (17)0.0473 (7)
O20.0853 (3)0.6094 (3)0.24130 (18)0.0454 (7)
N30.2331 (5)0.3708 (5)0.3739 (3)0.0644 (11)
C10.4020 (7)0.8140 (6)0.0133 (3)0.0829 (17)
H1A0.44540.87790.02730.124*
H1B0.34200.87440.06310.124*
H1C0.49330.75670.03960.124*
C20.2360 (6)0.5762 (6)0.0361 (3)0.0653 (13)
H2A0.34350.54020.05930.098*
H2B0.17560.63350.08690.098*
H2C0.17320.49240.00990.098*
C30.4139 (7)0.7773 (7)0.4617 (3)0.0900 (19)
H3A0.45740.68500.49660.135*
H3B0.35150.83640.50370.135*
H3C0.50530.83220.43260.135*
C50.2116 (6)0.7335 (6)0.2058 (4)0.0869 (18)
H5A0.32960.71890.21410.130*
H5B0.18660.76840.14080.130*
H5C0.18150.80660.24410.130*
C60.1642 (6)0.5271 (6)0.3587 (3)0.0719 (15)
H6A0.12230.60080.39290.108*
H6B0.12300.42860.38560.108*
H6C0.28480.53370.36230.108*
C310.1876 (5)0.2758 (5)0.4299 (3)0.0466 (10)
C110.1646 (5)0.2381 (5)0.1325 (3)0.0473 (10)
S110.11343 (18)0.11629 (16)0.06928 (10)0.0744 (4)
S310.12611 (19)0.14698 (15)0.50741 (10)0.0763 (4)
C40.2545 (8)0.9126 (6)0.3089 (4)0.0949 (19)
H4A0.36240.94970.29040.142*
H4B0.19380.98050.34610.142*
H4C0.19250.90500.25390.142*
S210.7549 (2)0.12394 (19)0.28209 (12)0.1095 (6)
N20.5300 (4)0.3672 (4)0.2522 (2)0.0548 (9)
C210.6214 (5)0.2630 (5)0.2652 (3)0.0473 (10)
Atomic displacement parameters (Å2) top
U11U22U33U12U13U23
Fe0.0374 (3)0.0410 (4)0.0407 (3)0.0035 (2)0.0001 (2)0.0089 (3)
S10.0504 (6)0.0506 (7)0.0416 (6)0.0079 (5)0.0034 (5)0.0064 (5)
O30.0383 (15)0.0578 (18)0.0571 (17)0.0050 (13)0.0010 (12)0.0281 (15)
S30.0465 (6)0.0628 (8)0.0526 (7)0.0003 (5)0.0010 (5)0.0255 (6)
S20.0349 (5)0.0629 (7)0.0551 (7)0.0055 (5)0.0023 (5)0.0260 (6)
N10.062 (2)0.049 (2)0.070 (3)0.0081 (19)0.0061 (19)0.021 (2)
O10.0420 (15)0.0564 (18)0.0419 (16)0.0007 (14)0.0024 (12)0.0017 (13)
O20.0329 (14)0.0505 (17)0.0543 (17)0.0035 (12)0.0044 (12)0.0135 (14)
N30.067 (3)0.068 (3)0.053 (2)0.002 (2)0.0080 (19)0.005 (2)
C10.113 (5)0.065 (4)0.069 (3)0.027 (3)0.003 (3)0.010 (3)
C20.075 (3)0.073 (3)0.051 (3)0.010 (3)0.013 (2)0.015 (2)
C30.092 (4)0.123 (5)0.066 (3)0.014 (4)0.026 (3)0.053 (3)
C50.052 (3)0.090 (4)0.111 (5)0.011 (3)0.008 (3)0.005 (4)
C60.049 (3)0.107 (4)0.063 (3)0.021 (3)0.007 (2)0.019 (3)
C310.047 (2)0.052 (3)0.043 (2)0.003 (2)0.0030 (19)0.015 (2)
C110.048 (2)0.042 (3)0.051 (3)0.005 (2)0.004 (2)0.005 (2)
S110.0858 (9)0.0629 (8)0.0830 (9)0.0047 (7)0.0180 (7)0.0367 (7)
S310.0960 (10)0.0569 (8)0.0751 (9)0.0222 (7)0.0257 (7)0.0044 (7)
C40.139 (6)0.067 (4)0.078 (4)0.020 (4)0.005 (4)0.021 (3)
S210.1331 (15)0.0751 (11)0.1091 (13)0.0568 (11)0.0088 (11)0.0012 (9)
N20.053 (2)0.055 (2)0.056 (2)0.011 (2)0.0037 (18)0.0123 (19)
C210.051 (3)0.048 (3)0.043 (2)0.002 (2)0.0039 (19)0.010 (2)
Geometric parameters (Å, º) top
Fe—O32.031 (3)C2—H2A0.9600
Fe—N12.035 (4)C2—H2B0.9600
Fe—O12.043 (3)C2—H2C0.9600
Fe—O22.041 (3)C3—H3A0.9600
Fe—N32.016 (4)C3—H3B0.9600
Fe—N21.997 (4)C3—H3C0.9600
S1—O11.529 (3)C5—H5A0.9600
S1—C11.759 (5)C5—H5B0.9600
S1—C21.768 (4)C5—H5C0.9600
O3—S31.527 (3)C6—H6A0.9600
S3—C31.755 (5)C6—H6B0.9600
S3—C41.731 (6)C6—H6C0.9600
S2—O21.538 (3)C31—S311.584 (5)
S2—C51.773 (5)C11—S111.596 (5)
S2—C61.769 (5)C4—H4A0.9600
N1—C111.164 (5)C4—H4B0.9600
N3—C311.158 (5)C4—H4C0.9600
C1—H1A0.9600S21—C211.587 (5)
C1—H1B0.9600N2—C211.148 (5)
C1—H1C0.9600
O3—Fe—N1174.70 (13)S1—C2—H2A109.5
O3—Fe—O187.64 (12)S1—C2—H2B109.5
O3—Fe—O285.20 (11)S1—C2—H2C109.5
N1—Fe—O189.85 (14)H2A—C2—H2B109.5
N1—Fe—O290.08 (13)H2A—C2—H2C109.5
O2—Fe—O188.64 (11)H2B—C2—H2C109.5
N3—Fe—O390.20 (15)S3—C3—H3A109.5
N3—Fe—N192.26 (17)S3—C3—H3B109.5
N3—Fe—O1177.81 (14)S3—C3—H3C109.5
N3—Fe—O290.79 (13)H3A—C3—H3B109.5
N2—Fe—O391.36 (13)H3A—C3—H3C109.5
N2—Fe—N193.23 (15)H3B—C3—H3C109.5
N2—Fe—O188.32 (13)S2—C5—H5A109.5
N2—Fe—O2175.50 (13)S2—C5—H5B109.5
N2—Fe—N392.13 (15)S2—C5—H5C109.5
O1—S1—C1103.3 (2)H5A—C5—H5B109.5
O1—S1—C2105.5 (2)H5A—C5—H5C109.5
C1—S1—C297.6 (2)H5B—C5—H5C109.5
S3—O3—Fe122.26 (16)S2—C6—H6A109.5
O3—S3—C3104.5 (2)S2—C6—H6B109.5
O3—S3—C4104.9 (2)S2—C6—H6C109.5
C4—S3—C3100.5 (3)H6A—C6—H6B109.5
O2—S2—C5102.7 (2)H6A—C6—H6C109.5
O2—S2—C6105.63 (19)H6B—C6—H6C109.5
C6—S2—C599.1 (3)N3—C31—S31179.3 (4)
C11—N1—Fe170.6 (4)N1—C11—S11178.5 (4)
S1—O1—Fe125.96 (15)S3—C4—H4A109.5
S2—O2—Fe128.93 (17)S3—C4—H4B109.5
C31—N3—Fe160.1 (4)S3—C4—H4C109.5
S1—C1—H1A109.5H4A—C4—H4B109.5
S1—C1—H1B109.5H4A—C4—H4C109.5
S1—C1—H1C109.5H4B—C4—H4C109.5
H1A—C1—H1B109.5C21—N2—Fe155.5 (4)
H1A—C1—H1C109.5N2—C21—S21177.3 (4)
H1B—C1—H1C109.5
Fe—O3—S3—C3147.3 (3)C2—S1—O1—Fe99.5 (2)
Fe—O3—S3—C4107.4 (3)C5—S2—O2—Fe166.8 (2)
C1—S1—O1—Fe158.6 (2)C6—S2—O2—Fe89.7 (3)
Hydrogen-bond geometry (Å, º) top
D—H···AD—HH···AD···AD—H···A
C6—H6A···S31i0.962.843.751 (6)159
Symmetry code: (i) x, y+1, z+1.
 

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Unite de Recherche de Chimie de l Environnement et Mol­eculaire Structurale (CHEMS), Universite Constantine 1 - Freres Mentouri, for support and access to the X-ray diffraction facility. This work was supported by the Direction Generale de la Recherche Scientifique et du Developpement Technologique (DGRSDT), Algeria.

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