Tris(dimethylamino)phosphane as a new ligand in gold(I) chemistry: Synthesis and crystal structures of [(Me(2)N)(3)P]AuCl, {[(Me(2)N)(3)PAu]O-3}(BF4-)-B-+, {[(Me(2)N)(3)PAu]3NP(NMe(2))(3)}(2+) {BF4-}(2) and the precursor molecule (Me(2)N)(3)PNSiMe(3)

[Tris(dimethylamino)phosphane]gold(I) chloride, mu(3)-tris-{[tris(dimethylamino)phosphane]gold(I)}oxonium tetrafluoroborate, {mu(3)-tris(dimethylamino)phosphaneimidotris[tris(dimethylamino)phosphane]gold(I)}(2+) bis(tetrafluoroborate) and N-trimethylsilyltris(dimethylamino)phosphaneimine were prepared using modifications of established procedures. Their structures were determined in single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The ligand (Me(2)N)(3)P, here introduced into gold(I) chemistry for the first time, lends high stability to these compounds through efficient steric shielding of the reaction sites and through a balanced electronic substituent effect. The structural details of the (Me(2)N)(3)P groups are of current interest because of the unusual nonequivalent configuration of the nitrogen atoms in the dimethylamino groups. This behaviour has been observed for most of the (Me(2)N)(3)P units in the compounds studied in this work.