(3-acetylpyridine-kappa N)chlorobis(triphenylphosphine-kappa P) copper(I): a suitable candidate for absolute asymmetric synthesis?

Journal article, 2006

It was found that 3-acetylpyridine is capable of displacing triphenylphosphine from [CuCl(PPh3)(3)], forming the title compound, [CuCl(C7H7NO)(C18H15P)(2)]. The two triphenylphosphine ligands possess the same sense of chirality, and the molecules are therefore conformationally chiral. The compound was found to crystallize as a racemate (centrosymmetric space group) under the crystallization conditions employed. The molecular structure shows that the carbonyl C atom is blocked at one side by a triphenylphosphine ligand, while the other face is open for nucleophilic attack. Obtaining chiral crystals of the title compound is thus a future objective. In the crystal structure, C-(HO)-O-...(=C)-bonded dimers are formed, which are further stabilized by pi-pi interactions. The dimers form infinite chains through weak C-H-...pi interactions.