CUPROPHILICITY, A STILL ELUSIVE CONCEPT - A THEORETICAL-ANALYSIS OF THE LIGAND-UNSUPPORTED CU-I-CU-I INTERACTION IN 2 RECENTLY REPORTED COMPLEXES

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations explain the short ligand- unsupported (CuCuI)-Cu-I contact recently reported for the [CuL](+)[Cu Cl2](-) complex [L = 1,1'-bis(2-pyridyl)octamethylferrocene] by a stro ng electrostatic attraction (-64 kcal mol(-1)) between the two moietie s and rule out the initially suggested metallophilic interaction, but cuprophilicity might account for the dimerization occurring in a famil y of trimetallic complexes.