The synthesis, characterisation and crystal structure of [Pt3(PPh3)2(CNC6H3Me2)6](PF6)2; a linear trinuclear cluster of platinum

Abstract [Pt 2 (PPh 3 ) 2 (CN-xylyl) 4 ] 2+ (CN-xylyl = 2,6-dimethylphenyl isocyanide) and [Pt 3 (PPh 3 ) 2 (CN-xylyl) 6 ] 2+ have been synthesized by reaction of [Pt(PPh 3 ) 2 (C 2 H 4 )] with either [Pt(PPh 3 ) 2 Cl 2 ] and CN-xylyl or [Pt(CN-xylyl) 4 ] 2+ . The products have been characterised by 31 P{ 1 H} and 195 Pt{ 1 H} NMR spectroscopy, and a single crystal X-ray diffraction study of the trinuclear compound has demonstrated that the skeletal atoms are linear.