Anion Effects on the Structural Properties of Bis(triphenylphosphine)copper(I) Carboxylate Complexes, [(PPh3)2CuO2CR]

Abstract

The crystal and molecular structure of the 2 : 1 triphenylphosphine copper(I) benzoate complex [(PPh₃)₂CuO₂CC₆H₅] have been determined by a room-temperature single-crystal X-ray study. The complex is isomorphous with the dithiobenzoate analogue, crystallizing in the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁ with a 20·094(5), b 16·929(9), c 10·659(8) Å, Z 4; conventional R on |F| was 0·039 for 4261 independent ‘observed’ (I > 3σ(I)) reflections. Comparison of structural data for this and other [(PPh₃)₂CuO₂CR] complexes shows that the P–Cu–P angle and the anion coordination are dependent on both the donor strength of the anion and on steric interactions between the anion and the triphenylphosphine ligands. The structure of the analogous nitrate complex [(PPh₃)₂CuNO₃] has also been redetermined.