Gold(I) cyanide is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula AuCN. It is the binary cyanide of gold(I). It is an odourless, tasteless yellow solid.[4] Wet gold(I) cyanide is unstable to light and will become greenish.[4] Gold(I) cyanide itself is only of academic interest, but its derivative dicyanoaurate is an intermediate in gold cyanidation, the extraction of gold from its ores.[5]
Like most gold compounds, it converts to metallic gold upon heating.[citation needed]
Structure
Gold(I) cyanide's is a coordination polymer consisting of linear chains of AuCN such that each Au(I) center is bonded to carbon and nitrogen. The structure is hexagonal with the lattice parameters a = 3.40 Å and c = 5.09 Å.[2] T[6]
^Bowmaker, Graham A.; Kennedy, Brendan J.; Reid, Jason C. (1998). "Crystal Structures of AuCN and AgCN and Vibrational Spectroscopic Studies of AuCN, AgCN, and CuCN". Inorganic Chemistry. 37 (16): 3968–3974. doi:10.1021/ic9714697. PMID11670511.