Bi- and tridentate phosphanegold(I) chloride units linked by organosilane backbones

Abstract

The tridentate ligand tris(dimethylphosphanyl-methyl)phenylsilane was prepared by the reaction of phenyltrichlorosilane with three equivalents of dimethylphosphanylmethyl lithium. This ligand and the bifunctional bis(dimethylphosphanylmethyl)dimethylsilane were converted into their corresponding gold(I) chloride complexes with three and two AuCl functions, respectively. The complexes were investigated for their ability to form intra- or intermolecular aurophilic interactions.