μ-Biphenyl-2,2′-dithiolato-κ²S:S′-bis[(triphenylphosphine-κP)gold(I)]

The reaction of ClAuPPh3 and 1,1'-biphenyl-2,2'-dithiol in the presence of trimethylbenzylammonium chloride and K2CO3 in a tetrahydrofuran/methanol solution gives the title complex, [Au-2(C12H8S2)(C18H15P)(2)]. The molecule contains P-Au-S units which 'cross' with torsion angles of similar to90degrees [P-Au-Au-P = 86.23 (5)degrees and S-Au-Au-S = 95.62 (5)degrees]. The intra- and intermolecular Au...Au distances [3.9064 (3) and 6.3797 (5) Angstrom, respectively] are outside the range for typical Au...Au interactions. However, the Au atoms appear to be drawn together, leading to a significant bending of the P-Au-S angles [170.24 (5) and 169.52 (5)degrees].