Six new Cu(II)-M(I) complexes (M = Ag, Au) were synthesized to illustrate the role of the convolution of d
10-d
10(aurophilic or argentophilic) and
-
stacking interactions in sustaining supramolecular solid-state architectures. Two types ofsupramolecular synthons are involved: a rectangular one, based on the aurophilic (argentophilic) interactions between the [M(CN)
2]
-spacers, and a linear one, relying upon
-
contacts between the aromatic ligands. The reactions between [Cu(acac)(BB)(H
2O)](ClO
4) complexes and K[M(CN)
2] in a 2:1 molar ratio (BB = 2,2'-bipyridine; 1,10-phenanthroline) lead to the following heterotrinuclearcomplexes: [{Cu(acac)(bipy)}
2{Au(CN)
2}](ClO
4)·0.5CH
3CN (
1), [{Cu(acac)(bipy)}
2{Ag(CN)
2}](ClO
4)·0.5CH
3CN (
2), [{Cu(acac)(phen)}
2{Ag(CN)
2}](ClO
4) (
3), and [{Cu(acac)(phen)}
2{Au(CN)
2}](ClO
4) (
4). The recrystallization of
4 from acetonitrile affords[{Cu(acac)(phen)}
2{Au(CN)
2}](ClO
4)·0.5CH
3CN (
5), which is isomorphous with the compounds
1-
3. By reacting [Cu(sal)(bipy)]ClO
4 with K[Ag(CN)
2] in a 1:1 molar ratio, a heterobinuclear complex, [{Cu(sal)(bipy)}{Ag(CN)
2}] (
6), is obtained (sal
- is theanion of the salicylaldehyde). The copper(II) ions in compounds
1-
6 exhibit a square-pyramidal geometry, with the apical positionoccupied by the nitrogen atom from the cyano bridge. As expected, the crystallographic investigation of compounds
1-
3 and
5reveals the formation of supramolecular grids resulting from the combination of the two supramolecular synthons. The M···Mdistances in these compounds are
1: 3.295(11) (Au···Au);
2: 3.
2144(7) (Ag···Ag),
3: 3.2789(10) (Ag···Ag);
5: 3.389(7) (Au···Au) Å, while the distances associated with the
-
stackings vary between 3.3 and 3.6 Å. The crystal structure of
4 differs fromthat found in the other trinuclear complexes. It consists of supramolecular chains resulting from the aromatic interaction betweenthe organic ligands attached to the copper ions, without the intervention of the d
10-d
10 interactions. The analysis of the packingdiagram for compound
6 reveals supramolecular zigzag chains, resulting from the convolution of Ag···Ag [2.9708(5) Å] and
-
aromatic (3.27-3.55 Å) interactions.