Reactions of Potassium Bis(phosphinimino)methanide with Group 11 Compounds

Transmetalation of the potassium methanide complex, K{CH(PPh2NSiMe3)2}, with [(Ph3P)2CuI] afforded the
corresponding copper complex [{CH(PPh2NSiMe3)2}CuPPh3] (1), whereas the reaction of K{CH(PPh2NSiMe3)2}
with [Ph3PAuCl] resulted in the dinuclear gold complex [(Ph3PAu)2{C(PPh2NSiMe3)2}] (2). The solid-state structure
of 1 shows the formation of a six-membered metallacycle (N1−P1−C1−P2−N2−Cu) that has a twist boat conformation.
In contrast, compound 2 is an α,α-diaurated species, in which the two gold atoms are coordinated in a linear
fashion onto the ligand backbone. Photoluminescence measurements show that the latter compound has a strong
violet emission.