One cationic dinuclear silver(I) complex of dppatc formed in situ by replacing ethylenediamine units of dppeda through aminothiocarbamide

Reaction of silver nitrate with N,N,N',N'-tetra(diphenylphosphanylmethyl)ethylenediamine (dppeda) in the presence of aminothiocarbamide in CH2Cl2/MeOH afforded an unexpected and low-yield binuclear complex [Ag-2(dppatc)(2)](NO3)(2)center dot 2MeOH (dppatc = N,N-bis( diphenylphosphanylmethyl)aminothiocarbamide) (1). An X-ray analysis revealed that the [Ag-2(dppatc)(2)](2+) dication of 1 contains a centrosymmetric double half-open cage structure in which two Ag centers are bridged by a pair of the heteroscopionate dppatc ligands via four Ag-mu-S and four Ag-P bonds. The in situ-formed dppatc ligand in 1 could be readily generated by one-pot and high-yield reaction of diphenylphosphine with formaldehyde and aminothiocarbamide. Further reaction of AgNO3 with dppatc could produce 1 in a relatively high yield. The results provided an efficient route to the synthesis of dppatc and also an interesting insight into its coordination chemistry. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.