Three-Coordinated Aminotroponiminate and Aminotroponate Complexes of Gold(I)

Unsymmetrical Coordination of Bipyridine in Three-Coordinate Gold(I) Complexes

The unsymmetrical coordination of gold(I) by 2,2'-bipyridine (bipy) in some planar, three-coordinate cations has been examined by crystallographic and computational studies. The salts [(Ph₃P)Au(bipy)]XF₆ (X = P, As, Sb) form an isomorphic series in which the differences in Au-N distances range from 0.241(2) to 0.146(2) Å. A second polymorph of [(Ph₃P)Au(bipy)]AsF₆ has also been found. Both polymorphs exhibit similar structures. The salts [(Et₃P)Au(bipy)]XF₆ (X = P, As, Sb) form a second isostructural series. In this series the unsymmetrical coordination of the bipy ligand is maintained, but the gold ions are disordered over two unequally populated positions that produce very similar overall structures for the cations. Although many planar, three-coordinate gold(I) complexes are strongly luminescent, the salts [(R₃P)Au(bipy)]XF₆ (R = Ph or Et; X = P, As, Sb) are not luminescent as solids or in solution. Computational studies revealed that a fully symmetrical structure for [(Et₃P)Au(bipy)]⁺ is 7 kJ/mol higher in energy than the observed unsymmetrical structure and is best described as a transition state between the two limiting unsymmetrical geometries. The Au-N bonding has been examined by natural resonance theory (NRT) calculations using the "12 electron rule". The dominant Lewis structure is one with five lone pairs on Au and one bond to the P atom, which results in a saturated (12 electron) gold center and thereby inhibits the formation of any classical, 2 e^- bonds between the gold and either of the bipy nitrogen atoms. The nitrogen atoms may instead donate a lone pair into an empty Au-P antibonding orbital, resulting in a three-center, four-electron (3c/4e) P-Au-N bond. The binuclear complex, [μ₂-bipy(AuPPh₃)₂](PF₆)₂, has also been prepared and shown to have an aurophillic interaction between the two gold ions, which are separated by 3.0747(3) Å. Despite the aurophillic interaction, this binuclear complex is not luminescent.

A clothes-peg-shaped binucleartrans-bis(2-aminotroponato)palladium(II) complex bearing pentamethylene spacers

rac-Bis{μ-trans-2,2′-[pentane-1,5-diylbis(azanediyl)]ditroponato}dipalladium(II), [Pd2(C19H20N2O2)2], has been synthesized and fully characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction,1H NMR, FT–IR and mass spectroscopy. Thetranscoordination, vaulted structure andanticonformation have been unequivocally established from the X-ray diffraction studies. This is the first example of a bis(aminotroponato)palladium complex. In the crystalline state, the molecule has twofold symmetry and each molecular unit undergoes intermolecular offset π-stacking of the tropone rings to afford heterochiral interpenetrating dimers that are aligned in a lamellar manner with a herringbone packing motif.

Luminescent, Three-Coordinate Azadipyrromethene Complexes of d10 Copper, Silver, and Gold

Boron azadipyrromethenes are red-light-absorbing dyes with chromophoric capabilities deriving from a conjugated, chelating framework. Reported here are tricoordinate copper(I), silver(I), and gold(I) complexes of a tetraphenylazadipyrromethene ligand. The new complexes are characterized by optical absorption and emission spectroscopy, multinuclear NMR, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction crystallography. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations indicate that the principal absorption features in azadipyrromethene complexes result from optically allowed intraligand transitions that undergo configuration interaction.