Dispersion, solvent and metal effects in the binding of gold cations to alkynyl ligands: implications for Au(i) catalysis†
Abstract
The coordination modes of the [Au(PPh3)]+ cation to metal alkynyl complexes have been investigated. On addition to ruthenium, a vinylidene complex, [Ru(η5-C5H5)(PPh3)2(CCPh{AuPPh3})]+, is obtained while addition to a gold(III) compound gives di- and trinuclear gold complexes depending on the conditions employed. In the trinuclear species, a gold(I) cation is sandwiched between two gold(III) alkynyl complexes, suggesting that coordination of multiple C–C triple bonds to gold is facile.