Chloro(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I) is a

coordination complex A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. It is a white solid. This compound is a common entry point into gold chemistry.

Structure

As for many other gold(I) complexes, the compound adopts a nearly linear (176.9°) geometry about the central gold atom. The Au-S bond distance is 2.271(2) Å, which is similar to other gold(I)-sulfur bonds.

Preparation

Chloro(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I) is commercially available. It may be prepared by dissolving gold in

aqua regia Aqua regia (; from Latin, "regal water" or "royal water") is a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, optimally in a molar concentration, molar ratio of 1:3. Aqua regia is a fuming liquid. Freshly prepared aqua regia is colorless, but i ...

(to give

chloroauric acid Chloroauric acid is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates . Both the trihydrate and tetrahydrate are known. Both are orange-yellow solids consisting of the planar anion. Often chloroauric acid is handled as a solutio ...

), followed by addition of

dimethyl sulfide Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) or methylthiomethane is an organosulfur compound with the formula . It is the simplest thioether and has a characteristic disagreeable odor. It is a flammable liquid that boils at . It is a component of the smell produc ...

. Alternatively, sodium tetrachloroaurate may be used as the source of gold(III). The bromo analog, Me₂SAuBr, has also been synthesized by a similar route. An approximate equation is: :HAuCl₄ + 2 SMe₂ + H₂O → Me₂SAuCl + 3 HCl + OSMe₂ A simple preparation starts from elemental gold in DMSO / conc HCl (1:2) where DMSO acts as an oxidant and the formed Me₂S as ligand. As a side product, HAuCl₄·2DMSO is formed.

Reactions

In chloro(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I), the

ligand is easily displaced by other ligands: :Me₂SAuCl + L → LAuCl + Me₂S (L = ligand) Since Me₂S is volatile, the new complex LAuCl is often easily purified. When exposed to light, heat, or air, the compound decomposes to elemental gold.

References

{{Gold compounds Gold(I) compounds Organosulfur compounds Chloro complexes Gold–halogen compounds Gold–sulfur compounds