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.
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.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Gold cyanide, aggregated across 4 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of AuCN. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for AuCN, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P6mm (No. 183) | hexagonal | 1.86 | 0.2506 | -22.970 | 6.24 |
| — | — | 1.16 | 0.3167 | 0.317 | — |
| P6mm (No. 183) | hexagonal | 1.10 | 0.3435 | 0.337 | — |
| P6mm (No. 183) | hexagonal | 1.36 | 0.3521 | 0.346 | — |
| P-6m2 (No. 187) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 2.5807 | 2.574 | — |
| Pm (No. 6) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 5.0241 | 5.018 | — |
| P4mm (No. 99) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 9.50 |
| P4/mmm (No. 123) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 12.00 |
| P4mm (No. 99) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 8.29 |
Applications
Where Gold cyanide is used.
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.
What is AuCN used for?
What is the band gap of AuCN?
Is AuCN a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is AuCN thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of AuCN?
What is the density of AuCN?
How many polymorphs of AuCN are known?
What elements does AuCN contain?
Where does the data for AuCN come from?
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 (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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