Coordinated nitroxyl anion is produced and released as nitrous oxide by the decomposition of iridium-coordinated nitrosothiols

The aqueous decomposition of the iridium coordinated nitrosothiols (RSNOs) trans-K[IrCl₄(CH₃CN)NOSPh] (1), and K₂[IrCl₅(NOECyS)] (2, ECyS = cysteine ethyl ester), was studied by MS analysis of the gaseous products, ESI-MS, NMR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Bent NO (NO⁻, nitroxyl anion), sulfenic acids and nitrite were observed as coordinated products in solution, while nitrous oxide (N₂O) and nitrogen were detected in the gas phase. The formation of coordinated NO⁻ and N₂O, a nitroxyl dimerization product, allows us to propose the formation of free nitroxyl (HNO) as an intermediate. Complex 1 decomposes 300 times slower than free PhSNO does. In both cases (1 and 2) kinetic results show a first order decomposition behavior and a very negative ΔS^≠, which strongly indicates an associative rate-determining step. A proposed decomposition mechanism, supported by the experimental data and DFT calculations, involves, as the first step, nucleophilic attack of H₂O on to the sulfur atom of the coordinated RSNO, producing an NO⁻ complex and free sulfenic acid, followed by two competing reactions: a ligand exchange reaction of this NO⁻ with the sulfenic acid or, to a minor extent, coordination of N₂O to produce an NO⁻/N₂O complex which finally renders free N₂ and coordinated NO₂⁻. Some of the produced NO⁻ is likely to be released from the metal center producing nitroxyl by protonation and finally N₂O by dimerization and loss of H₂O. In conclusion, the decomposition of these coordinated RSNOs occurs through a different mechanism than for the decomposition of free RSNOs. It involves the formation of sulfenic acids and coordinated NO⁻, which is released from the complexes and protonated at the reaction pH producing nitroxyl (HNO), and ultimately N₂O.