Gold(II) trihalide complexes from organogold(III) precursors

The mononuclear gold(II) halide complexes [AuCl3 ]- and [AuBr3 ]- are formed in the gas phase by collision-induced homolytic splitting of the only Au-C bond in the monoalkylgold(III) precursors [CF3 AuX3 ]- . The geometries of the whole series of [AuX3 ]- complexes (X=F, Cl, Br, I) have been calculated by DFT methods. It has also been found that the neutral AuX2 molecules behave as unsaturated species, showing significant affinity for an additional X- ligand. Moreover, in the open-shell [AuX3 ]- anions, homolytic splitting of one of the Au-X bonds and formation of the lower-valent [AuX2 ]- anions is favored over non-reducing halide dissociation. They should therefore be prone to disproportionation.This work was supported by the Spanish MINECO/FEDER (Project CTQ2015-67461-P) and the Gobierno de Aragjn and Fondo Social Europeo (Grupo Consolidado E21: Qu&mica Inorganica y de los Compuestos Organometalicos). The Instituto de Biocomputacion y Fisica de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI) and the Centro de Supercomputacion de Galicia (CESGA) are greatfully aknowledged for generous allocation of computational resources. A.P.-B. thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte for a grant (FPU15/03940).Peer reviewe