Organogold III Complexes Preparation and Characterization

The first compound containing four gold-carbon bonds was claimed (2/7) to have been prepared in 1933, but a reformulation of the obtained 

The analogous tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)gold(III) anion has been prepared (II, 12), somewhat less cleanly, by the reaction of [AuCl3(tht)] with pentafluorophenyllithium [Eq. (69)]. The tetra-n-butylammonium cation was used to stabilize the product, but even this did not prevent some reduction to the diarylaurate(I) species. 

The use of ylides as ligands has allowed a number of gold(III) complexes containing four organic groups to be isolated. A review of ylide complexes of several transition metals, including gold, has appeared (48), and such species were featured briefly therein. 

Sulfoxonium and sulfonium ylide complexes have also been prepared (222) from [AuMe3(PPh3)] [Eqs. (70) and (71)]. These complexes react 

Double ylide complexes have been obtained from the reactions of di-methylgold(III) chloride with Me3P=C=PMe3 (223) and Me3P=N— PMe2=CH2 (224) [Eqs. (73) and (74)], and X-ray diffraction studies showed (225) the products to be nearly isostructural. 

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