Preparation and Structural Variety of Neutral Heptaphospha-Nortricyclane Derivatives of Zinc and the Coinage Metals.

In this study, we report the preparation of neutral Au(I), Ag(I), and Cu(I) derivatives [(hyp)₂P₇M]_n (M = Au, n = 2; M = Ag, Cu, n = 4) of a heptaphospha-nortricyclane cage. Synthesis was conducted via a halodesilylation route under the cleavage of the sterically less shielded trimethyl silyl group, starting from the heteroleptic cage (hyp)₂(tms)P₇. All coinage metal derivatives exhibit short metal–metal distances of 2.9542(2) Å (Au), 2.8833(6) Å (Ag), and 2.654(1) Å (Cu), respectively. The same synthetic methodology was also applied for the preparation of a zinc derivative, [{(hyp)₂P₇}₂Zn]*Et₂O, for which full multinuclear NMR characterization could be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]