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Updated: Oct 31, 2025

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Published on: July 30, 2017
Group 11 m-Terphenyl Complexes Featuring Metallophilic Interactions
Yu Liu1, Laurence J Taylor1, Stephen P Argent1
1School of Chemistry, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, U.K.
New copper, silver, and gold terphenyl complexes were synthesized and found to form dimers with short metal-metal bonds, indicating metallophilic interactions. These dimeric structures were confirmed in solution using NMR spectroscopy.
Area of Science:
- Organometallic Chemistry
- Inorganic Synthesis
- Materials Science
Background:
- Group 11 metals (copper, silver, gold) are known for their diverse coordination chemistry.
- Terphenyl ligands offer steric bulk and electronic tunability in organometallic complexes.
- Metallophilic interactions are attractive non-covalent forces between metal centers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize novel group 11 metal-terphenyl complexes.
- To investigate the structural and bonding properties of these complexes, particularly metal-metal interactions.
- To explore the stability and solution behavior of the synthesized compounds.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of metal-terphenyl complexes via metathesis reactions from iron precursors.
- Solid-state structural characterization (implied by 'dimeric in the solid state').
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, including diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), to study solution behavior.
- Computational analysis: Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) and energy decomposition analysis (EDA) using natural orbitals for chemical valence.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of dimeric copper, silver, and gold complexes with bulky terphenyl ligands.
- Observation of short metal-metal distances indicative of metallophilic interactions in the solid state.
- NMR data confirmed the dimeric nature of copper and silver complexes in solution (benzene-d6).
- The gold complex exhibited instability in solution, yielding low product amounts.
Conclusions:
- Bulky terphenyl ligands facilitate the formation of dimeric group 11 metal complexes.
- Short metal-metal distances in these complexes arise from significant metallophilic interactions.
- The stability of these dimeric complexes is metal- and ligand-dependent, with gold complexes being less stable.
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