Chloro(tetrahydrothiophene)gold(I), abbreviated (tht)AuCl, 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 ' ...
of
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 ...
. Like
the dimethyl sulfide analog, this compound is used as an entry point to gold chemistry. The
tetrahydrothiophene ligand is labile and is readily substituted with other stronger ligands.
Preparation
This compound may be prepared by the reduction of
tetrachloroauric acid with
tetrahydrothiophene:
:
The complex adopts a linear coordination geometry, as is typical of many gold(I) compounds. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group ''Pmc''2
1 with a = 6.540(1) Å, b = 8.192(1) Å, c = 12.794(3) Å with Z = 4 formula units per unit cell. The bromide congener is isostructural.
It is somewhat less thermally labile compared to (Me
2S)AuCl, but is still sensitive to temperature and light.
References
{{sulfur compounds
Gold(I) compounds
Thiolanes
Chloro complexes
Gold–sulfur compounds
Gold–halogen compounds