Thiolato

Thiolato refers to the deprotonated form of a thiol. Thiols are organic compounds containing a sulfhydryl group (-SH). When a thiol loses a proton (H+), it forms a thiolate anion, which has the general formula RS-, where R represents an alkyl or aryl group. Thiolates are nucleophilic and can readily participate in various chemical reactions. They are stronger nucleophiles than their parent thiols due to the negative charge. This negative charge also makes them more basic. In inorganic chemistry, the term thiolato can also describe ligands in coordination complexes where the sulfur atom is bonded to a metal center and carries a formal negative charge. These metal-thiolato complexes are important in various catalytic processes and biological systems. The reactivity of thiolates is influenced by the nature of the R group. Electron-donating groups generally increase nucleophilicity, while electron-withdrawing groups can decrease it. Thiolates are involved in important biological processes, such as protein folding and enzyme activity, where cysteine residues form disulfide bonds.