For zillions of years biological systems have used a variety of metal-sulfur complexes in a wide range of proteins and enzymes. The list grows on a yearly basis as more and more metallosulfur bioprocesses are characterized.
Industry uses metal-sulfur compounds as catalysts in various processes.
The largest of these is hydrodesulfurization which is a critical step in the processing of crude fuels. Research in our laboratory investigates the basic chemistry of metal-sulfur complexes, with emphasis on the sulfur chemistry and not on the metal. Most of the work has utilized sulfur complexes of molybdenum and tungsten although this is not necessarily exclusive. This is a new venture for our group and it has important environmental implications. Mountains of these simply accumulate.