μ-Biphenyl-2,2′-dithiolato-′K ²S:S′-bis[(triphenylphosphine-KP)gold(I)]

The reaction of ClAuPPh3 and 1,1′-bi­phenyl-2,2′-di­thiol in the presence of tri­methyl­benzyl­ammonium chloride and K2CO3 in a tetra­hydro­furan/methanol solution gives the title complex, [Au2(C12H8S2)(C18H15P)2]. The mol­ecule contains P—Au—S units which `cross' with torsion angles of ∼90° [P—Au—Au—P = 86.23 (5)° and S—Au—Au—S = 95.62 (5)°]. The intra- and intermolecular Au⋯Au distances [3.9064 (3) and 6.3797 (5) A, respectively] are outside the range for typical Au⋯Au interactions. However, the Au atoms appear to be drawn together, leading to a significant bending of the P—Au—S angles [170.24 (5) and 169.52 (5)°].