Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026
13:42
Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis
Published on: July 10, 2021
15.9K
Isocyanide insertion into Au-H bonds: first gold iminoformyl complexes
Julio Fernandez-Cestau1, Luca Rocchigiani, Anna Pintus
1School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. m.bochmann@uea.ac.uk.
Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)
|September 26, 2018
Summary
This study introduces novel gold iminoformyl complexes formed by isocyanide insertion into gold(III)-hydrogen bonds. Radical initiation and excess isocyanide drive this equilibrium reaction forward, trapping key intermediates.
Area of Science:
- Organometallic Chemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Gold complexes are valuable catalysts.
- Understanding gold-hydrogen bond reactivity is crucial for developing new synthetic methodologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the first synthesis of gold iminoformyl complexes.
- To investigate the mechanism of isocyanide insertion into gold(III)-hydrogen bonds.
Main Methods:
- Reaction of gold(III) precursors with isocyanides.
- Radical initiation.
- Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of gold iminoformyl complexes.
- Demonstration of radical-initiated isocyanide insertion.
- DFT calculations confirmed an equilibrium reaction driven by isocyanide excess.
Conclusions:
- Isocyanide insertion into Au(III)-H bonds provides access to novel gold iminoformyl complexes.
- The reaction mechanism involves radical initiation and is favored by excess isocyanide to trap Au(II) intermediates.
Related Concept Videos
02:49Bond Energies and Bond Lengths
31.5K
Stable molecules exist because covalent bonds hold the atoms together. The strength of a covalent bond is measured by the energy required to break it, that is, the energy necessary to separate the bonded atoms. Separating any pair of bonded atoms requires energy — the stronger a bond, the greater the energy required to break it.
31.5K
02:43Peptide Bonds
83.1K
A peptide bond covalently attaches amino acids through a dehydration reaction. One amino acid's carboxyl group and another amino acid's amino group combine, releasing a water molecule. The resulting bond is the peptide bond. The products that such linkages form are peptides. As more amino acids join this growing chain, the resulting chain is a polypeptide. Each polypeptide has a free amino group at one end. This end has the N-terminal, or the amino-terminal, and the other end has a free...
83.1K
02:32Bonding in Metals
52.5K
Metallic bonds are formed between two metal atoms. A simplified model to describe metallic bonding has been developed by Paul Drüde called the “Electron Sea Model”.
52.5K
00:42Ionic Bonds
131.0K
Overview
When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
Opposing Charges Hold Ions Together in Ionic Compounds
Ionic bonds are reversible electrostatic interactions between ions...
When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
Opposing Charges Hold Ions Together in Ionic Compounds
Ionic bonds are reversible electrostatic interactions between ions...
131.0K
02:51Metal-Ligand Bonds
24.3K
The hemoglobin in the blood, the chlorophyll in green plants, vitamin B-12, and the catalyst used in the manufacture of polyethylene all contain coordination compounds. Ions of the metals, especially the transition metals, are likely to form complexes.
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
24.3K
02:42Valence Bond Theory
11.3K
Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...
11.3K