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Chloro(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I) is a coordination complex of gold. It is a white solid. This compound is a common entry point into gold chemistry.
Contents
Structure
As for many other gold(I) complexes, the compound adopts a nearly linear (176.9°) geometry about the central gold centre. 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 (to give chloroauric acid), followed by addition of dimethyl sulfide. 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 + OSMe2Reactions
In chloro(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I), the dimethyl sulfide 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 and air, the compound decomposes to elemental gold.