Interconversion between bis(mu-thiolato)dicopper(II) and disulfide-bridged dicopper(I) complexes mediated by chloride ion.

An unprecedented clean interconversion between a novel bis(mu-thiolato)dicopper(II) complex (1) and a disulfide-bridged dicopper(I) complex (3) through a disulfide-bridged (mu-chloro)dicopper(I) complex (2) mediated by chloride ion has been established for the first time, providing a new redox chemistry of the transition metal-sulfur complexes. Crystal structures of 1 and 3 as well as spectroscopic features of the compounds are reported.