Cleavage of a P-N Bond in a Urea-Containing (Ph2 P(R)PPh2 )-Bridged Dinuclear Gold(I) Thiolate Complex by Fluoride and a Mechanistic Insight.

Abstract

A urea-containing, (Ph2 P(R)PPh2 )-bridged, dinuclear, gold(I) thiolate complex, [Au2 {Ph2 PN(C6 H4 OMe-4)PPh2 }(SC6 H4 NHCONHC6 H5 )2 ] (1) was designed and synthesized and its photophysical and anion recognition properties studied. The results show that 1 has a high selectivity toward F(-) . Upon addition of F(-) , the yellow solution was decolorized, and drastic changes of emission and (1) H and (31) P{(1) H} NMR signals were observed. Interestingly, these changes are attributed to fluoride-assisted P-N bond hydrolysis, instead of the expected hydrogen-bonding interactions with the urea receptor. Similar changes were observed for two other basic anions, AcO(-) and H2 PO4 (-) , but to a much lesser extent; and these anions were found to bind to the urea receptor at the same time. On the other hand, Cl(-) was found to only bind to the urea moiety through hydrogen-bonding interactions. Further studies with the control complex [Au2 {Ph2 PN(C6 H4 OMe-4)PPh2 }Cl2 ] (2) indicate that F(-) assists the hydrolysis process via cleavage of the P-N bond. DFT calculations were performed to study the reaction mechanism for the fluoride-assisted P-N bond hydrolysis of 2; these provide a better insight into the role of fluoride in the hydrolysis.