Daniel J. Doonan

Mixed valence gold chemistry: Stepwise oxidation of a cyclic trigold(I) complex

Abstract Oxidation of the cyclic complex Au 3 (CH 3 OCNCH 3 ) 3 by iodine or bromine produces three distinct complexes Au 3 (CH 3 OCNCH 3 ) 3 X n ( n = 2,4 or 6, X = Br or I) in which the gold atoms undergo stepwise oxidative halogen addition. The products have been characterized by elemental analysis, molecular weight determinations, proton magnetic resonance spectra and IR spectra. The complexes with n = 4 or 2 undergo spontaneous autodecomposition. In the case of Au 3 (CH 3 OCNCH 3 ) 3 Br 4 this decomposition produces gold metal, Au 3 (CH 3 OC NCH 3 ) 3 Br 6 , methyl bromide, and methyl isocyanate in an extremely clean reaction.