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Sodium maleonitriledithiolate is the 
The salt is synthesized by treating
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
described by the formula
In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...
Na2S2C2(CN)2. The name refers to the cis compound, structurally related to maleonitrile ((CHCN)2). Maleonitriledithiolate is often abbreviated mnt. It is a "dithiolene
Dithiolene metal complexes are complexes containing 1,2-dithiolene ligands. 1,2-Dithiolene ligands, a particular case of 1,2-dichalcogenolene species, are unsaturated bidentate ligand wherein the two donor atoms are sulfur. 1,2-Dithiolene metal ...
", i.e. a chelating alkene-1,2-dithiolate. It is a prototypical non-innocent ligand
In chemistry, a (redox) non-innocent ligand is a ligand in a metal complex where the oxidation state is not
clear. Typically, complexes containing non-innocent ligands are redox active at mild potentials. The concept assumes that redox reactions ...
in coordination chemistry
A coordination complex consists of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ''ligands'' or complexing agents. Many ...
. Several complexes are known, such as i(mnt)2sup>2−.
The salt is synthesized by treating carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide (also spelled as carbon disulphide) is a neurotoxic, colorless, volatile liquid with the formula and structure . The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non ...
with sodium cyanide
Sodium cyanide is a poisonous compound with the formula Na C N. It is a white, water-soluble solid. Cyanide has a high affinity for metals, which leads to the high toxicity of this salt. Its main application, in gold mining, also exploits its hi ...
to give the cyanodithioformate salt, which eliminates elemental sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
in aqueous solution:
:2 NaCN + 2 CS2 → Na2S2C2(CN)2 + 1/4 S8
The compound was first described by Bähr and Schleitzer 1958.
{{cite journal
, author = G. Bähr and G. Schleitzer
, title = Beiträge zur Chemie des Schwefelkohlenstoffs und Selenkohlenstoffs, II. Die Kondensierende Spontan-Entschwefelung von Salzen und Estern der Cyan-Dithioameisensäure. Freie Cyan-Dithioameisensäure
, journal = Chemische Berichte
''Chemische Berichte'' (usually abbreviated as ''Ber.'' or ''Chem. Ber.'') was a German-language scientific journal of all disciplines of chemistry founded in 1868. It was one of the oldest scientific journals in chemistry, until it merged with ' ...
, year = 1957
, volume = 90
, pages = 438–443
, doi = 10.1002/cber.19570900322
, issue = 3
References