Synthesis and crystal structure of di­chlorido­(1,10-phenanthroline-κ(2) N,N′)gold(III) hexa­fluorido­phosphate

A gold(III) salt of composition [AuCl(2)(C(12)H(8)N(2))]PF(6) was prepared and characterized by elemental and mass spectrometric analysis (ESI(+)–QTOF–MS), (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The square-planar coordination sphere of Au(III) comprises the bidentate 1,10-phenanthroline ligand and two chloride ions, with the Au(III) ion only slightly shifted from the least-squares plane of the ligating atoms (r.m.s. = 0.018 Å). In contrast to two other previously reported Au(III)-phenantroline structures that are stabilized by inter­actions involving the chlorido ligands, the packing of the title compound does not present these features. Instead, the hexa­fluorido­phosphate counter-ion gives rise to anion⋯π inter­actions that are a crucial factor for the crystal packing.