Syntheses, X-ray structures and AACVD studies of group 11 ditelluroimidodiphosphinate complexes

Abstract

Reactions of Na(tmeda)[N(ⁱPr₂PTe)₂] with CuCl, AgI or AuCl (in the presence of PPh₃) in THF produced the coinage metal ditelluroimidodiphosphinate complexes {Cu[N(ⁱPr₂PTe)₂]}₃, (5), {Ag[N(ⁱPr₂PTe)₂]}₆ (6) and Au(PPh₃)[N(ⁱPr₂PTe)₂] (7), respectively. Complexes 5, 6 and 7 were characterized in the solid state by X-ray crystallography. Complex 5 is trimeric and exhibits a highly distorted Cu₃Te₃ ring. In contrast, the Ag(I) complex 6 is a hexamer, and forms a twelve-membered Ag₆Te₆ ring. The replacement of the ⁱPr groups on phosphorus by Ph results in an intriguing structural change to a tetramer with a boat-shaped Ag₄Te₄ ring in {Ag[N(Ph₂PTe)₂}₄·2THF (8). The gold(I) complex 7 is monomeric. Aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of compounds 5, 6 and 7 yields CuTe, Ag₇Te₄, AuTe₂ and Au films, respectively. The films were grown at temperatures of 300–500 °C and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX).