Gold(I) chloride is a compound of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...

with the

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

AuCl.

Preparation

Gold(I) chloride is prepared by thermal decomposition of

gold(III) chloride Gold(III) chloride, traditionally called auric chloride, is a compound of gold and chlorine with the molecular formula . The "III" in the name indicates that the gold has an oxidation state of +3, typical for many gold compounds. Gold(III) c ...

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 disporpotionates to metallic gold and gold(III) chloride in an autoredox reaction: : 3 AuCl → 2 Au + AuCl₃ At still higher temperatures, around 500 °C, all gold chlorides convert to gold. This conversion is key to the

Miller process The Miller process is an industrial-scale chemical procedure used to refine gold to a high degree of purity (99.5%). It was patented by Francis Bowyer Miller in 1867. This chemical process involves blowing chlorine gas through molten, but (slightly ...

, which is widely used for the purification of gold. Reaction with

potassium bromide Potassium bromide ( K Br) is a salt, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with over-the-counter use extending to 1975 in the US. Its action is due to the bromide ion (sodium bromide is equall ...

yields potassium auric bromide and

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...

with separation of metallic gold: : 3 AuCl + 4 KBr → KAuBr₄ + 2 Au + 3 KCl

Safety

Gold(I) chloride may irritate the skin and eyes, damage kidney function, and reduce white blood cell counts.

References

{{Chlorides Gold(I) compounds Chlorides Metal halides Gold–halogen compounds