Diorganochalcogen(II) ligands of type [R2C(OH)CH2](2-Me2NCH2C6H4)E (E = S, Se, Te; R = Me, Ph), and their silver(I) complexes.

Ligands of type [R2C(OH)CH2](2-Me2NCH2C6H4)E [R = Me, E = S (1), Se (2), Te (3); R = Ph, E = S (4), Se (5)] were obtained in the reactions of (2-Me2NCH2C6H4)ELi and the corresponding R2C(OH)CH2Cl (R = Me, Ph) reagent. The reactions between the ligands 1-3 and 5 with AgOTf (OTf = OSO2CF3), in a 1:1 M ratio, resulted in the silver(I) complexes [AgOTf{E[CH2C(OH)R2](C6H4CH2NMe2-2)}] [R = Me, E = S (6), Se (7), Te (8); R = Ph, E = Se (9)]. The new compounds 1-9 were investigated by solution NMR spectroscopy (¹H, 19F, 77Se, 125Te, as appropriate). The ligands 1-5 were investigated also by 13C NMR. The IR spectra and the molar conductivity of the silver(I) complexes suggested a covalent nature of the Ag-OTf bond, while their ESI + MS spectra suggest the formation of dimeric species. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed a monomeric structure with intramolecular N⋯H-O hydrogen bonding for compound 5, while for the complex 6 dimeric associations formed by bridging ligands were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]