Gold(I) Complexes of the Geminal Phosphinoborane tBu2PCH2BPh2

DevinH. A. Boom, Andreas W. Ehlers, Martin Nieger, Marc Devillard, Ghenwa Bouhadir, Didier Bourissou, J. Chris Slootweg

Index: 10.1021/acsomega.8b00143

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Abstract

In this work, we explored the coordination properties of the geminal phosphinoborane tBu2PCH2BPh2 (2) toward different gold(I) precursors. The reaction of 2 with an equimolar amount of the sulfur-based complex (Me2S)AuCl resulted in displacement of the SMe2 ligand and formation of linear phosphine gold(I) chloride 3. Using an excess of ligand 2, bisligated complex 4 was formed and showed dynamic behavior at room temperature. Changing the gold(I) metal precursor to the phosphorus-based complex, (Ph3P)AuCl impacted the coordination behavior of ligand 2. Namely, the reaction of ligand 2 with (Ph3P)AuCl led to the heterolytic cleavage of the gold–chloride bond, which is favored over PPh3 ligand displacement. To the best of our knowledge, 2 is the first example of a P/B-ambiphilic ligand capable of cleaving the gold–chloride bond. The coordination chemistry of 2 was further analyzed by density functional theory calculations.