Abstract
The cover picture shows the potential energy surface (PES) of the gold triiodide molecule (AuI3) with a novel L-shaped structure in the minimum energy position. A variety of the molecular orbitals for gold triiodides are shown in the background. It has been known that gold trihalides are not stable in their most symmetrical trigonal planar coordination, because they are subject to the Jahn–Teller effect and distort to lower symmetry T- or Y-shaped structures (also depicted on the PES). Our study revealed that this behavior depends on the halogen ligands, and that it changes gradually from the fluoride to the iodide. The structures and stabilities of the gold trihalides, together with those of the gold monohalides and all their dimers, are described in detail by M. Hargittai and A. Schulz on p. 3657 ff.
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