Phosphate triester hydrolysis promoted by S3-zinc(II) complexes with a bridged hydroxide: The crystal structure of TtiZn-OP(O)(OC6H4-p-NO2)2, Tti = hydrotris(N-xylyl-2-thioimidazolyl)borate

The bridged μ-hydroxo zinc(II) complex [TtiZn(μOH)ZnTti]ClO4 (2) cleaves the P-O bond in tris(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate, affording a mixture of the monomeric phosphate diester complex TtiZn-OP(O)(OC6H4-p-NO2)2 (3) and phenoxide complex TtiZn-OC6H4-p-NO2 (4). The coordination geometry in both complexes is best described as distorted tetrahedral with an S3O ligand donor set.