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Updated: Aug 13, 2025

Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic Gold Nanoparticles
Published on: July 2, 2019
Placing gold on a π+-surface: ligand design and impact on reactivity
Wei-Chun Liu1, François P Gabbaï1
1Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University College Station TX 77843 USA francois@tamu.edu.
Abstract:
We describe a novel gold chloride complex supported by an ambiphilic phosphine/xanthylium ligand in which the AuCl moiety interacts with the π+ surface of the xanthylium unit as indicated by structural studies. Energy decomposition analyses carried out on a model system indicates the prevalence of non-covalent interactions in which the electrostatic and dispersion terms cumulatively dominate. The presence of these AuCl-π+ interactions correlates with the high catalytic activity of this complex in the cyclisation of 2-(phenylethynyl)phenylboronic acid, N-propargyl-t-butylamide, and 2-allyl-2-(2-propynyl)malonate. Comparison with the significantly less active acridinium and the 9-oxa-10-boraanthracene analogues reinforces this conclusion.
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