Coordination Chemistry of Gold Catalysts in Solution: A Detailed NMR Study

Coordination chemistry of gold catalysts bearing eight different ligands [L=PPh₃, JohnPhos (L2), Xphos (L3), DTBP, IMes, IPr, dppf, S‐tolBINAP (L8)] has been studied by NMR spectroscopy in solution at room temperature. Cationic or neutral mononuclear complexes LAuX (L=L2, L3, IMes, IPr; X=charged or neutral ligand) underwent simple ligand exchange without giving any higher coordinate complexes. For L2AuX the following ligand strength series was determined: MeOH?hex‐3‐yne <MeCN≈OTf^??Me₂S<2,6‐lutidine<4‐picoline<CF₃CO₂^?≈DMAP<TMTU<PPh₃<OH^?≈Cl^?. Some heteroligand complexes DTBPAuX exist in solution in equilibrium with the corresponding symmetrical species. Binuclear complexes dppf(AuOTf)₂ and S‐tolBINAP(AuOTf)₂ showed different behavior in exchange reactions with ligands depending on the ligand strength. Thus, PPh₃ causes abstraction of one gold atom to give mononuclear complexes LLAuPPh₃⁺ and (Ph₃P)_nAu⁺, but other N and S ligands give ordinary dicationic species LL(AuNu)₂²⁺. In reactions with different bases, LAu⁺ provided new oxonium ions whose chemistry was also studied: (DTBPAu)₃O⁺, (L2Au)₂OH⁺, (L2Au)₃O⁺, (L3Au)₂OH⁺, and (IMesAu)₂OH⁺. Ultimately, formation of gold hydroxide LAuOH (L=L2, L3, IMes) was studied. Ligand‐ or base‐assisted interconversions between (L2Au)₂OH⁺, (L2Au)₃O⁺, and L2AuOH are described. Reactions of dppf(AuOTf)₂ and S‐tolBINAP(AuOTf)₂ with bases provided more interesting oxonium ions, whose molecular composition was found to be [dppf(Au)₂]₃O₂²⁺, L8(Au)₂OH⁺, and [L8(Au)₂]₃O₂²⁺, but their exact structure was not established. Several reactions between different oxonium species were conducted to observe mixed heteroligand oxonium species. Reaction of L2AuNCMe⁺ with S^2? was studied; several new complexes with sulfide are described. For many reversible reactions the corresponding equilibrium constants were determined.