Studies on the interaction of selenite and selenium with sulphur donors. Part 4. Thiosulfate

Abstract

Raman and Se-77 NMR spectroscopy confirm that when selenous acid is reduced by thiosulfate in water selenopentathionate and tetrathionate are formed.[Formula: see text]Depending upon the stoichiometry and pH, two isomers of the selenopentathionate ion, O- and S-bonded, are formed. Insufficiently acid solutions cause decomposition to selenium and tetrathionate ion.[Formula: see text]Fresh solutions prepared from crystalline sodium selenopentathionate and water undergo slow decompositon. NMR and Raman spectra show the presence of both the O-bonded and S-bonded linkage isomers. The O-bonded isomer facilitates the formation of tetrathionate. Addition of thiosulfate to selenotrithionate solution or sulfite to selenopentathionate solution yields trithionate with no indication of dithionate or tetrathionate formation. This suggests that simple S—S bond formation at selenium does not occur but that there may be direct attack of the incoming ligand on the attached ligand. Key words: selenite, thiosulfate, selenopentathionate, Se-77 NMR, Raman spectroscopy, linkage isomerism.