Gold(I) chloride is a compound of gold and chlorine with the chemical formula AuCl.
Preparation
Gold(I) chloride is prepared by thermal decomposition of gold(III) chloride.
Reactions
Although there is a region of stability at higher temperatures at the appropriate chlorine vapor pressures, the compound is metastable at ambient conditions. When heated with water, the compound dispropotionates to metallic gold and gold(III) chloride in an autoredox reaction:
3 AuCl → 2 Au + AuCl3At still higher temperatures, around 500 °C, all gold chlorides convert to gold. This conversion is key to the Miller process, which is widely used for the purification of gold.1
Reaction with potassium bromide yields potassium auric bromide and potassium chloride with separation of metallic gold:
3 AuCl + 4 KBr → KAuBr4 + 2 Au + 3 KClSafety
Gold(I) chloride may irritate the skin and eyes, damage kidney function, and reduce white blood cell counts.
References
Renner, Hermann; Schlamp, Günther; Hollmann, Dieter; Lüschow, Hans Martin; Tews, Peter; Rothaut, Josef; Dermann, Klaus; Knödler, Alfons; Hecht, Christian; Schlott, Martin; Drieselmann, Ralf; Peter, Catrin; Schiele, Rainer (2000). "Gold, Gold Alloys, and Gold Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. doi:10.1002/14356007.a12_499. ISBN 3527306730. 3527306730 ↩