Versatile Methods for Preparation of New Cyclometalated Gold(III) Complexes

Versatile methods for the high-yield syntheses of new cyclometalated gold­(III) complexes are described. Mono- or dialkylated or arylated gold­(III) complexes are selectively obtained from reaction of Au­(OCOCF3)2(tpy) (tpy = 2-(p-tolyl)­pyridine) with either RMgX or RLi, respectively. Specifically, AuMe2(tpy) and AuPh2(tpy) were prepared with the respective lithium reagents, and AuBrMe­(tpy), AuBrEt­(tpy), and AuBrPh­(tpy) were prepared with Grignard reagents. The molecular structures of compounds Au­(OCOCF3)2(tpy) and AuMe2(tpy) were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.