HEXA-NUCLEAR AND OCTANUCLEAR GOLD COMPLEXES OF P-PHENYLENEDIPHOSPHINE

p-Phenylenediphosphine 1,4-C6H4(PH2)2, synthesized according to a publ ished procedure, has been fully characterized by its analytical and sp ectroscopic data. This diprimary phosphine was reacted with 2 equiv of (LAu)3O+BF4- (L = t-Bu3P or Ph3P) to yield products of the type [1,4- (LAu)3P-C6H4-P(AuL)3]2+(BF4-)2 with two trigold moieties in the dicati ons. The reaction of 2 equiv of an equimolar mixture of (Ph3PAu)3O+BF4 - and Ph3PAu+BF4- with 1,4-C6H4(PH2)2 leads to the product [ 1,4-(Ph3P Au)4P-C6H4-P(AuPPh3)4]4+(BF4-)4 in quantitative yield, which features two tetranuclear units in trans positions. The compounds were obtained as polycrystalline solids, which were readily identified by means of a detailed NMR and mass spectrometric analysis.