Acetone solutions of [Au(OClO
3)(PCy
3)] react with complexes [M{S
2C=(
t-Bu-fy)}
2]
2- [
t-Bu-fy = 2,7-
di-
tert-butylfluoren-9-ylidene; M = Pd (
2a), Pt (
2b)] or [M{S
2C=(
t-Bu-fy)}(dbbpy)] [dbbpy = 4,4'-
di-
tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridyl; M = Pd(
3a), Pt (
3b)] to give the heteronuclear complexes [M{S
2C=(
t-Bu-fy)}
2{Au(PCy
3)}
2] [2:1 molar ratio; M = Pd (
4a),Pt (
4b)], [M{S
2C=(
t-Bu-fy)}(dbbpy){Au(PCy
3)}]ClO
4 [1:1 molar ratio; M = Pd (
5a), Pt (
5b)], or [M{S
2C=(
t-Bu-fy)}(dbbpy){Au(PCy
3)}
2](ClO
4)
2 [2:1 molar ratio; M = Pd (
6a), Pt (
6b)]. The crystal structures of
3a,
4a,
4b,
5b,and
6a have been solved by single-crystal X-ray stu
dies and, in the cases of the heteronuclear derivatives, revealthe formation of short Pd···Au or Pt···Au metallophilic contacts in the range of 3.048-3.311 Å. Compounds
4aand
b and
5a and
b undergo a dynamic process in solution that involves the migration of the [Au(PCy
3)]
+ unitsbetween the sulfur atoms of the
dithiolato ligands. The coor
dination of
2a and
b and
3a and
b to [Au(PCy
3)]
+ unitsresults in important mo
difications of their photophysical properties. The dominant effect in the absorption spectrais an increase in the energy of the MLCT (
4a and
b) or charge transfer to
diimine (
5a,
b,
6a,
b) transitions becauseof a decrease in the energies of the mixed metal/
dithiolate HOMOs. The Pd complexes
2a and
4a are luminescentat 77 K, and the features of their emissions are consistent with an essentially metal-centered
3d-d state. The Pt/Aucomplexes are also luminescent at 77 K, and their emissions can be assigned as originating from a MLCT tripletstate (
4b) or a mixture of charge transfer to
diimine and
diimine intraligand
-
* triplet states (
5b and
6b).