Synthesis of four different antimony(III) O,O'-dialkyldithiophosphates: characterization by 31P CP/MAS NMR, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and adsorption at a stibnite surface (Sb2S3).

Four different dialkyldithiophosphate (DTP) ions, (RO)(2)PSS(-) (R=C(3)H(7), iso-C(3)H(7), iso-C(4)H(9), and cyclo-C(6)H(11)), have been adsorbed on the surface of synthetically prepared stibnite, Sb(2)S(3), and studied by means of (31)P CP/MAS NMR. Corresponding individual [Sb{S(2)P(OR)(2)}(3)] complexes have also been synthesized and used for comparison with the surface-adsorbed DTP species. The results show that a low concentration of collector at the surface leads to a chemisorbed monolayer of DTP on the mineral surface. At high concentration of DTP, a surface precipitate of Sb(DTP)(3) is formed. (31)P CP/MAS NMR and chemical shift anisotropy data indicate that the SPS bite angle of the chemisorbed DTP groups on the surface is larger than in the corresponding precipitated complexes and the coordination of the ligands differs. Using single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique, the molecular structure of a solvated form of crystalline O,O'-di-cyclo-hexyldithiophosphate antimony(III) complex has been resolved. In this novel molecular structure, the central antimony atom S,S'-anisobidentately coordinates three structurally non-equivalent DTP groups, and therefore, the geometry of the [SbS(6)] chromophore can be approximated by a distorted octahedron. Besides that, useful correlations between (31)P CSA parameters and structural data on this complex were also established.