Gas Phase Chemistry of Gold

Abstract

This chapter deals with results from gas phase experiments on mononuclear gold compounds, although there will not be too much discussion of gold in an organic chemistry context. Mass spectrometry in combination with laser spectroscopic techniques has made a wealth of experimental data on gold complexes available. Such experiments can yield deep and detailed insight into the chemistry of gold, since the target systems are very well defined and circumvent the difficulties associated with solvent interaction and speciation that complicate many experiments in condensed phase environments. Moreover, gas phase experiments can serve to validate computational and theoretical approaches to gold chemistry. We discuss experimental approaches to bring gold compounds into the gas phase, and we showcase data on complexes with atomic and molecular ligands, as well as studies on the reactivity of gold ions.

Interfacial Contact is Required for Metal‐Assisted Plasma Etching of Silicon

“…Note that although it appears that MAPE consumes the Au, it is referenced here as a metal catalyst because we hypothesize that the consumption of the Au is likely due to the aforementioned secondary reactions and not as part of the Si etching reaction, positioning Au as a catalyst in our proposed mechanism underlying MAPE. While the formation of volatile Au–Si compounds are technically possible, this is unlikely to underpin the enhanced etching due to preferential formation of SiF 4 , Au–Si generally requiring specialized routes of synthesis,[52] and the lack of volatile Au–Si compounds depleting Au catalysts at the low pressures and elevated temperatures found during vapor–liquid–solid growth of Si nanowires.…”