Synthesis, Reactivity, and Bonding of Gold(I) Fluorido-Phosphine Complexes.

Gold(I) fluorido complexes with phosphine ligands have been synthesized from their respective iodido precursors. The bonding situation in comparison between complexes bearing phosphines and N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) was explored quantum-chemically, obtaining similar results for both. Calculations of the 19 F NMR chemical shifts match the experimental values well, including the approximately 40 ppm low-field shifts for the phosphine complexes compared to the NHC complexes, in spite of similar negative charges on fluorine. The reactivity of the highly water-sensitive gold(I) fluorido complexes was studied, resulting in substitution at the metal using trimethylsilyl reagents. The compounds studied were characterized using NMR as well as X-ray diffraction methods.