Copper(I) O,O '-dialkyldithiophosphate clusters: EXAFS, NMR and X-ray diffraction studies

Copper K- edge EXAFS data for six polycrystalline cubic cluster compounds, {Cu-8[ S2P(OR)(2)](6)(mu(8)- S)} with R= Et, Pr-n, Pr-i, Bu-n, Bu-i and Am-i, show that the architecture of their Cu-8(S2P)(2)S cores is fairly rigid and independent of both length and branching of the alkyl chain, and that the structure of the cluster is maintained in acetone solution. Solid- state P-31 CP-MAS and static Cu-65 NMR data for {Cu-8[S2P(O-n Pr)(2)] 6(mu(8)- S)} and {Cu-8[S2P(OEt)(2)](6) mu(8)- S)} show similarities in the icosahedral O,O'- dialkyldithiophosphate shells and in the `cubic' copper cores in these cluster compounds. The crystal structure of {Cu-8[S2P(O-n Pr)(2)](6) (mu(8)- S)} was resolved using single- crystal X- ray diffraction.