Inorganic particles, especially gold particles, 1 are probably one of the most intensely researched fields in chemistry today. Classical procedures for inorganic particle synthesis include vapor phase reactions and wet chemistry in water and organic solvents. Recently, also ionic liquids (ILs) have been used to fabricate well-defined inorganic particles. 2,3 Moreover, the pyridinium and imidazolium cations of ILs can coordinate to MX 4 2-(M = Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pd and X = Cl, Br) complex ions and form ionic liquid crystals (ILCs). [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Because these ILCs contain a metal center and have a high degree of order, they are prime candidates for the synthesis of inorganic nanostructures. As the first example, our group has recently fabricated a macroporous network of CuCl platelets from a Cu-containing ILC. As these ILCs serve as precursors for inorganic matter, we have termed them ionic liquid crystal precursors, ILCPs. 12, 13 Unlike conventional precursor/solvent/ reactant mixtures, ILCPs are "all-in-one" reactant-solventtemplates. 3,12,13 Other research groups have recently adapted this concept and presented their own ILCPs. [14][15][16] The current paper shows that not only mesophases (i.e. ILCs) but also crystalline ILC analogs can template inorganic particles. Specifically, we show that dodecylpyridinium tetrachloroaurate is a precursor for the formation of gold platelets with a nanometer thickness and a micrometer width. The fabrication of inorganic particles from a crystalline metal complex precursor is a new concept that could be useful for many other inorganic materials, especially metallic nanostructures. Indeed, Chen et al. have recently shown that the controlled thermolysis of a silver thiolate yields uniform silver nanodisks. 17 ExperimentalMetal complex synthesis Dodecylpyridinium chloride (Fluka) was recrystallized three times from THF (Aldrich) yielding a white powder. 284.5 mg of dodecylpyridinium chloride and 398 mg of NaAuCl 4 (Aldrich) were dissolved in 15 mL of water and vigorously stirred at room temperature (Scheme 1). A bright yellow precipitate appeared immediately and the suspension was stirred in the dark for another 30 min. to complete the reaction. The precipitate was filtered, washed with cold water, and dried under vacuum for 12 hours. The resulting complex 1 is soluble in THF, dioxane, and acetonitrile, but insoluble in water, chloroform, and toluene. 1 H-NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6, TMS) δ 0.84 (t, 3H), 1.24 (broad, 18 H, J), 1.90 (m, 2H), 4.61 (m, 2H), 8.15 (m, 2H), 8.58 (m, 1H), 9.15 (d, 2H). 13 C NMR (400 MHz, TMS) 146.4, 145.7, 128.9, 67.9, 61.5, 41.0, 40.8, 40.6, 40.4, 39.8, 32.2, 31.7, 29.9, 29.8, 29.7, 29.6