(S) 2-phenyl-2-(p-tolylsulfonylamino)acetic acid. Structure, acidity and its alkali carboxylates

The structure and the preferred conformers of (S) 2-phenyl-2-(p-tolylsulfonylamino)acetic acid (1) are reported. Compound 1 is a derivative of the unnatural aminoacid the (S) phenyl glycine. The X-ray diffraction analyses of the complexes of 1 with water, methanol, pyridine and its own anion are discussed. In order to add information about the acidity of the COOH and NH protons in compound 1, its pK_a in DMSO and those of N-benzyl-p-tolylsulfonamide and (S) N-methylbenzyl-p-tolylsulfonamide were determined by cyclic voltammetry. Data improved the scarce information about pK_a in DMSO values of sulfonamides. The products of the reactions of compound 1 with one and two equivalents of LiOH, NaOH and KOH in methanol were analyzed. Crystals of the lithium (2) and sodium (3) carboxylates and the dipotassium sulfonylamide acetate (7) were obtained, they are coordination polymers. In compound 2, the lithium is bound to four oxygen atoms with short bond lengths. The coordination of the lithium atom to two carboxylates gives an infinite ribbon by formation of fused six membered rings. In the crystal of compound 3, two pentacoordinated sodium atoms are bridged by three oxygen atoms, one from a water molecule and two from DMSO. The short distance between the sodium atoms (3.123 Å), implies a metal-metal interaction. The sodium couples are linked by two carboxylate groups, forming a planar ribbon of fused twelve membered rings. A notable discovery was a water molecule quenched in the middle of the ring, with a tetra coordinated oxygen atom in a square planar geometry. In compound 7, the carboxylate and the amide are bound to heptacoordinated potassium atoms. The 2D polymer of 7 has a sandwich structure, with the carboxylate and potassium atoms in the inner layer covered by the aromatic rings.