Cation- and Solvent-Induced Supramolecular Aggregation Studies of Crown Ether-Containing Dinuclear Alkynylgold(I) Isocyanide Complexes

Abstract

A series of crown ether-based dinuclear bis(alkynyl)-bridged gold(I) isocyanide complexes has been designed, synthesized, and characterized. The intramolecular Au···Au interactions of these complexes are used to bind potassium ions. Most of the bis(crown ether)-containing gold(I) complexes are found to obey the 1:1 binding mode towards K+. Upon addition of K+ ions, the sandwich complex of crown ether can be formed, which brings the two gold(I) centers into close proximity, resulting in the switching on of the Au···Au interaction. The influence of the length of the bridging ligands between the two AuI centers has also been studied. Apart from the potassium ion-induced intramolecular assembly, intermolecular Au···Au interactions of the crown ether-containing dinuclear gold(I) complexes have also been demonstrated by varying the solvent composition.