Synthesis and Metal Complexes of Thiourea Ligands Containing Carbohydrate-Derived Substituents

Two glucose‐derived thiourea derivatives, 2a and 2b, were prepared by addition of the corresponding amino sugars to a solution of 4‐nitrobenzoyl isothiocyanate (Scheme 1). The thioureas were isolated as colorless solids in good yields and were fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy, optical rotation, elemental analysis, and also by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Attempts to obtain CuII and NiII bis(chelate) complexes with these thioureas failed. However, the C(1)‐protected thiourea derivative 2a reacted with orthopalladated acetato‐bridged dimers to afford the corresponding monomeric PdII complexes 3 and 4 (Scheme 2). In these compounds, the thiourea coordinates to the metal as monoanionic O,S chelate ligand, which was confirmed by X‐ray crystallography.