Synthesis and crystal structure determination of the triflate salt of diacetonitrile(2,2′-bipyridine)platinum(II)

Reaction of [Pt(bipy)Cl2] (bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine) with an excess of silver triflate in refluxing acetonitrile readily affords [Pt(bipy)(MeCN)2](CF3SO3)2 as a yellow, crystalline solid. A single crystal X-ray diffraction study shows that the cations are arranged in a zig-zag manner in rows parallel to the b axis of the monoclinic unit cell. Consideration of the crystal structures of related bipyridyl ligand complexes of platinum(II), leads to the conclusion that a stacked structure with intermolecular Pt…Pt interactions for the title compound is prevented by the electrostatic repulsion between adjacent cations that are doubly charged.