AuCN

Gold cyanide · Gold(I) cyanide

Gold cyanide is a semiconducting gold-based compound that is primarily utilized in gold plating and various chemical synthesis processes.

AuCN
Crystal structure of AuCN (hexagonal, P6mm (No. 183))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Gold cyanide

Gold cyanide is a distinct inorganic compound composed of gold, carbon, and nitrogen. It exhibits semiconducting electronic properties, making it a subject of interest for researchers investigating the intersection of precious metal chemistry and electronic materials.

Despite its simple stoichiometry, the material displays significant structural variety, with numerous reported configurations across various databases. Its thermodynamic profile suggests it exists in a metastable state, which influences its chemical reactivity and synthetic pathways in specialized applications.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Gold cyanide, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

1.86 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.251 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Above hull
2 DFT sources

Structures

8
3 databases, 5 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for AuCN, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
P6mm (No. 183)hexagonal1.860.2506-22.9706.24
P4/mmm (No. 123)Tetragonal12.00
P4mm (No. 99)Tetragonal8.29
P4mm (No. 99)Tetragonal9.50
P-6m2 (No. 187)
Pm (No. 6)
P6mm (No. 183)
P6mm (No. 183)
Uses

Applications

Where Gold cyanide is used.

Gold electroplatingChemical synthesisGold-based catalysts
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Gold cyanide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is AuCN?

Gold cyanide is a semiconducting gold-based compound that is primarily utilized in gold plating and various chemical synthesis processes.

More questions
What is AuCN used for?
Gold cyanide (AuCN) is used in gold electroplating, chemical synthesis, and gold-based catalysts.
What is the band gap of AuCN?
Gold cyanide (AuCN) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.86 eV across 8 reported structures.
Is AuCN a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 1.86 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is AuCN thermodynamically stable?
Gold cyanide (AuCN) has a lowest energy above hull of 0.251 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of AuCN?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Gold cyanide (AuCN) is hexagonal symmetry, space group P6mm (No. 183).
What is the density of AuCN?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Gold cyanide (AuCN) is 6.24 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of AuCN are known?
8 structures of AuCN are reported across 3 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
What elements does AuCN contain?
Gold cyanide (AuCN) contains Au, C, and N (3 elements).
Where does the data for AuCN come from?
AuCN data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique gold-based cyanide, this compound serves as a critical reference point for understanding the stability and electronic behavior of metal-cyanide frameworks. It functions as a foundational example of how gold-carbon-nitrogen bonding motifs influence the overall electronic character of the material class.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).

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