The Crystal and Molecular Structures of Gold(I) Complexes Containing the Electron-Rich P-Donor Ligand Ph3PNPPh2†

The reaction of [AuCl(tht)] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene) with an equimolar amount of the electron-rich ligand N-diphenylphosphino-triphenylphosphinimine, Ph3PNPPh2, in THF afforded the new complex [AuCl(Ph3PNPPh2)] (1) in good yield. Furthermore, the reaction of [AuHCl4] with Ph3PNPPh2 in a molar ratio of 1:3 in dichloromethane at room temperature yielded the complex salt [Au(Ph3PNPPh2)2]Cl (2) as the dichloromethane solvate beside Ph3PNPPh2Cl2 as the side-product of oxidation. The molecular structures of metal complexes 1 and 2 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Because of the bulkiness of the ligand Ph3PNPPh2 no short intermolecular gold–gold interactions (aurophilic aggregation) could be observed in the solid-state structures.