Cationic Gold(II) Complexes: Experimental and Theoretical Study

Gold(II) complexes are rare and their application for catalysis of chemical transformations is unexplored. The reason is their easy oxidation or reduction to the more stable gold(III) or gold(I) complexes, respectively. We explored the thermodynamics of the formation of the [(L)AuIIX]+ complexes (L = ligand, X = halogen) from their gold(III) precursors and investigated the stability and the spectral properties in the IR and VIS range of the formed gold(II) complexes in the gas phase. The results show that the best ancillary ligands L for stabilizing gaseous [(L)AuIIX]+ complexes are bidentate and tridentate ligands with nitrogen donor atoms. The electronic structure and spectral properties of the investigated gold(II) complexes were correlated with the quantum chemical calculations. The results show that the molecular and electronic structure of the gold(II) complexes as well as their spectroscopic properties are very similar to the analogous stable copper(II) complexes.