Gold Chemistry is Different

Abstract

The attractive properties of gold have long been taken for granted without any questioning of the basic chemistry that lies behind them. Today, chemists are beginning to find the reasons for gold's unique position among the family of elements. After a general introduction to gold chemicals and a review of some of the element's unusual facets, the author, who has contributed much himself to this research, explains that only through a consideration of relativistic effects has a deeper understanding of the chemistry of gold emerged. These theoretical advances have led to the preparation of a multitude of novel gold compounds characterised by clusters of gold atoms which can incorporate carbon and nitrogen atoms. In the light of these modern concepts of bonding and structure, the chemistry of gold is now a subject of research in many laboratories and its literature has exploded.