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Gold(I) Complexes of N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes and Pyridines
Author(s) -
Chiou Josh Y. Z.,
Luo Shih C.,
You Wan C.,
Bhattacharyya Amitabha,
Vasam C. Sekhar,
Huang Cyong H.,
Lin Ivan J. B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of inorganic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1099-0682
pISSN - 1434-1948
DOI - 10.1002/ejic.200801186
Subject(s) - chemistry , pyridine , homo/lumo , catalysis , crystallography , density functional theory , aldehyde , medicinal chemistry , stereochemistry , organic chemistry , computational chemistry , molecule
Overall ten ionic [Au(NHC)(Py)][PF 6 ]‐ and [Au 2 (NHC) 2 (Py) 2 ][PF 6 ] 2 ‐type complexes [NHC = N , N′ ‐dialkylbenzimidazol‐2‐ylidene, denoted as R 2 ‐bimy with alkyl (R) being methyl (Me) or ethyl (Et), and Py = 4‐substituted pyridine or 4,4′‐bipyridine] have been prepared by incorporating various Pys into the Au I ‐NHC core with Au(NHC)Cl as starting material. Their crystal structures characterized by X‐ray diffraction indicate a linearly coordinated Au I center and exhibit secondary forces such as Au ··· Au, Au ··· π, or π ··· π interactions. The luminescent properties of these compounds were studied in the solid state. Density‐functional theory calculations on [Au(Me 2 ‐bimy)(4‐dmapy)][PF 6 ] [4‐dmapy = 4‐(dimethylamino)pyridine] predict the lowest electronic transition with nonzero oscillator strength is the fourth HOMO–LUMO transition. Whereas the fourth HOMO is mainly associated with the Py ligands, the LUMO is predominantly aurophilic. Four Au I ‐NHC compounds were examined for their catalytic activity towards the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to aldehyde, in which the starting material [Au(Et 2 ‐bimy)Cl] gave the highest yield. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)