Addressing misconceptions in dithiocarbamate chemistry

Abstract

Dithiocarbamates are monoanionic chelating ligands, easily prepared from CS2 and secondary or primary amines, that find widespread use in agriculture, medicine, materials science and coordination chemistry. This is (in part) due to their ability to stabilise metals in a wide range of oxidation states, a result of soft (dithiocarbamate) and hard (thioureide) resonance forms. However, in the many thousands of publications on dithiocarbamate chemistry, some common misconceptions have arisen, often being accepted as truth. In this perspective we address some of these in the hope that, moving forward, the wider community will better grasp the nuances of the chemistry of this important ligand type.