Isolable, gold carbonyl complexes supported by N-heterocyclic carbenes

Cationic gold carbonyl complexes supported by N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, SIDipp and IDipp, have been synthesized. [(SIDipp)Au(CO)][SbF6] has a linear, two-coordinate gold center. [(SIDipp)Au(CO)][SbF6] and [(IDipp)Au(CO)][SbF6] display (nu) over tilde CO values at 2197 and 2193 cm(-1), respectively. Computational studies on [(SIMe)Au(CO)](+) indicate the presence of a strong Au(I)-CO bond.