Gold(I)-Thiolate Coordination Polymers as Multifunctional Materials: The Case of Au(I)-p-Fluorothiophenolate

Gold-sulfur interaction has vital importance in nanotechnologies and material chemistry to design functional nanoparticles, self-assembled monolayers, or molecular complexes. In this paper, a mixture of only two basic precursors, such as the chloroauric acid (HAu(III)Cl₄) and a thiol molecule (p-fluorothiophenol (p-HSPhF)), are used for the synthesis of gold(I)-thiolate coordination polymers. Under different conditions of synthesis and external stimuli, five different functional materials with different states of [Au(I)(p-SPhF)] can be afforded. These gold-thiolate compounds are (i) red emissive, flexible, and crystalline fibers; (ii) composite materials made of these red emissive fibers and gold nanoparticles; (iii) amorphous phase; (iv) transparent glass; and (v) amorphous-to-crystalline phase-change material associated with an ON/OFF switch of luminescence. The different functionalities of these materials highlight the great versatility of the gold(I) thiolate coordination polymers with easy synthesis and diverse shaping that may have great potential as sustainable phosphors, smart textiles, sensors, and phase change memories.