A highly constrained cis-dihydride platinum complex trapped by cooperative gold/platinum dihydrogen activation

A series of Au(i)/Pt(0) combinations that behave as bimetallic frustrated Lewis pairs activates dihydrogen in a cooperative manner. The steric bulk of the terphenyl phosphines that stabilize both fragments allows for the isolation of a rather unique and highly distorted cis-type dihydride platinum(ii) structure.