bent dinuclear platinum(ii) halo-bridged carbonyl complexes

Crystals of trans-Pt2(μ-X)2X2(CO)2 (X = Br, I) have been grown and their molecular and crystalline structures have been solved by X-ray diffraction methods. In both cases the dinuclear molecules are bent, with a bending angle of 164.6° and 156.5° for the bromide and the iodide, respectively. While the structure of the bromo-derivative is reported here for the first time, a modification of trans-Pt2(μ-I)2I2(CO)2 with planar centrosymmetric molecules is known. This appears to be a rare case of a platinum(II) halo-bridged derivative structurally characterized in both bent and planar forms.