Characteristic

Gold(I) chloride is a compound of gold and chlorine with the chemical formula AuCl.

Chemical formula:AuCl

Molar mass:232.423 g/mol

Appearance:yellow solid

Density:7.6 g/cm³ 

Melting point:170 °C (338 °F; 443 K)

Boiling point:298 °C (568 °F; 571 K) (decomposes)

Solubility in water:very slightly soluble

Solubility:soluble in HCl, HBr organic solvents

Magnetic susceptibility (χ):−67.0·10−6 cm³/mol

Crystal structure:Tetragonal

Application

Gold(I) chloride is used as a starting material for the preparation of Phosphine ligated gold(I) complexes, which is used as catalysts in synthetic chemistry. It is also used to prepare metallic gold and potassium auric bromide and potassium chloride.