31P and 195Pt NMR studies on the clusters [Pt4(μ2-CO)5L4]. L = PEt3, PMe2Ph,PMePh2, PEt2But. The molecular structure of a monoclinic modification of [Pt4(μ2-CO)5(PMe2Ph)4].

Several clusters complexes of composition Pt₄(μ₂-CO)₅L₄] have been synthesized and characterized, using ³¹P and ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR. L = PEt₃, PMe₂Ph, PMePh₂, PEt₂Bu^t. The molecular structure of a new monoclinic modification of the PMe₂Ph derivative has been determined: space group P2₁/n with a = 19.698(4), b = 10.9440(20), and c = 21.360(6) Å, β = 112.432(18)°, Z = 4. Using 4751 reflections measured at 290 ± 1 K on a four-circle diffractometer the structure has been refined to R = 0.0846. The molecule has no imposed symmetry, but the central Pt₄(CO)₅P₄ core has the approximate C₂v architecture established for the previously known orthorhombic modification. The Pt₄ unit is thus a highly distorted, edge-opened (3.3347 Å) tetrahedron, with five edge-bridging carbonyl and four terminal phosphine ligands. In contrast to the crystallographic results ³¹P and ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR spectra reveal equivalent ³¹P and ¹⁹⁵Pt spins, which can be interpreted in terms of a tetrahedral arrangement of platinum atoms. It is suggested that this equivalence arises from time-averaging of all possible isomeric edge-opened tetrahedra.