NHC-Au(I) complexes bearing Trispyrazolyl borate (Tp) ligands: Efficient platforms for bimetallic species

Treatment of NHC-AuCl (NHC = IPr and IMes) complexes with equimolar amounts of the KTpR2 (R = Me, H) salts in tetrahydrofurane, produce in high yields the heteroleptic complexes 3-6 with the general formula NHC-Au-TpR2. As the TpR ligand in complexes 3-6 features a k1-N coordination type toward the gold(I) center, the subsequent addition of group 10 and 11 metal precursors (NiII, PtII, CuII) results in the isolation of heterobimetallic Au/M complexes supported by TpR platforms. All new metal complexes have been fully characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, and in case of 3, 4 and 6 by X-ray crystallography.