Some binuclear acetonitrile ‘solvated’ complexes of copper(I) chloride and bromide with triphenylarsine

Reaction of copper(I) chloride and bromide, CuX (X = Cl or Br), with triphenylarsine in acetonitrile solution has resulted in two adducts, respectively, of 2:3:1, [(Ph3As)2Cu(μ-Cl)2Cu(AsPh3)(NCMe)] (1), and 1:1:2 stoichiometry, [(Ph3As)(MeCN)Cu(μ-Br)2Cu(NCMe)(AsPh3)] · 2MeCN (2), characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ESI MS and NMR spectroscopy, and room temperature single crystal X-ray structure determinations. The environments of the two four-coordinate copper(I) atoms in 1 are different, being As2Cu(μ-Cl)2 and As,NCu(μ-Cl)2. (2) is also binuclear, being a centrosymmetric dimer with the two four-coordinate, symmetry-related copper atoms having As,NCu(μ-Br)2-environments.