Argentophilic Interactions in Solution: An EXAFS Study of Silver(I) Nitrene Transfer Catalysts

Silver(I) catalysts have been developed for nitrene transfer reactions such as aziridination and C–H insertion. For some catalysts, structures determined by X-ray crystallography reveal dimers with silver–silver interactions, leading to mechanistic speculation about the potential role of dinuclear silver complexes in catalysis. However, it is often unclear if the silver–silver interactions persist in solution. Here we use EXAFS to directly interrogate the solution-phase structures of several silver(I) nitrene transfer catalysts. Retention or loss of the silver–silver interaction in solution can be clearly observed.