Chemistry of Polynuclear Cationic Gold(I) Thiolates of Formula [Au2(StBu)(L2)][BF4]

Coinage metal aluminyl complexes: probing regiochemistry and mechanism in the insertion and reduction of carbon dioxide

The synthesis of coinage metal aluminyl complexes, featuring M-Al covalent bonds, is reported via a salt metathesis approach employing an anionic Al(i) ('aluminyl') nucleophile and group 11 electrophiles. This approach allows access to both bimetallic (1 : 1) systems of the type ( t Bu3P)MAl(NON) (M = Cu, Ag, Au; NON = 4,5-bis(2,6-diisopropylanilido)-2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethylxanthene) and a 2 : 1 di(aluminyl)cuprate system, K[Cu{Al(NON)}2]. The bimetallic complexes readily insert heteroallenes (CO2, carbodiimides) into the unsupported M-Al bonds to give systems containing a M(CE2)Al bridging unit (E = O, NR), with the μ-κ1(C):κ2(E,E') mode of heteroallene binding being demonstrated crystallographically for carbodiimide insertion in the cases of all three metals, Cu, Ag and Au. The regiochemistry of these processes, leading to the formation of M-C bonds, is rationalized computationally, and is consistent with addition of CO2 across the M-Al covalent bond with the group 11 metal acting as the nucleophilic partner and Al as the electrophile. While the products of carbodiimide insertion are stable to further reaction, their CO2 analogues have the potential to react further, depending on the identity of the group 11 metal. ( t Bu3P)Au(CO)2Al(NON) is inert to further reaction, but its silver counterpart reacts slowly with CO2 to give the corresponding carbonate complex (and CO), and the copper system proceeds rapidly to the carbonate even at low temperatures. Experimental and quantum chemical investigations of the mechanism of the CO2 to CO/carbonate transformation are consistent with rate-determining extrusion of CO from the initially-formed M(CO)2Al fragment to give a bimetallic oxide that rapidly assimilates a second molecule of CO2. The calculated energetic barriers for the most feasible CO extrusion step (ΔG ‡ = 26.6, 33.1, 44.5 kcal mol-1 for M = Cu, Ag and Au, respectively) are consistent not only with the observed experimental labilities of the respective M(CO)2Al motifs, but also with the opposing trends in M-C (increasing) and M-O bond strengths (decreasing) on transitioning from Cu to Au.

Dinuclear gold(i) complexes: from bonding to applications

The last two decades have seen a veritable explosion in the use of gold(i) complexes bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and phosphine (PR₃) ligands.

Heterometallic complexes with gold(I) metalloligands: self-assembly of helical dimers stabilized by weak intermolecular interactions and solvophobic effects

New gold(I) alkynyl metalloligands bpylCCAuL, bpyl'CCAuPPh3 , and PPN[Au(CCbpyl')2 ] (bpyl or bpyl'=2,2'-bipyridin-5-yl or -4-yl, respectively; L=PMex Ph3-x (x=1-3), P(C6 H3 Me2 -3,5)3 , PCy3 , XyNC) have been synthesized. Ligands bpylCCH and metalloligands bpylCCAuL (L=PPh3 , PMePh2 , PCy3 , CNXy) react with MX2 (M=Fe, Zn, X=ClO4 ; M=Co, X=BF4 ) to give complexes [M(bpylCCZ)3 ]X2 (Z=H or AuL). In most cases, these complexes are mixtures of fac and mer isomers in a statistical distribution, in both CH2 Cl2 and MeCN. However, for L=PPh3 , the fac isomer is dominant in MeCN. NMR and ESI-MS studies, together with the crystal structure of [Co(bpylCCAuPPh3 )3 ](BF4 )2 , suggest that this solvent dependence is originated by the formation of helical dimers between two fac complexes in MeCN. These dimers are stabilized by solvophobic effects and multiple intermolecular interactions. Complex [Fe(Ph3 PAuCCbpdiylCCAuPPh3 )3 ](ClO4 )2 (bpdiyl=2,2'-bipyridin-5,5'-diyl) was obtained by reaction of three diauro diethynylbipyridines and Fe(ClO4 )2 .