Gold chalcogenides

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Gold chalcogenides are compounds formed between gold and one of the chalcogens, elements from group 16 of the periodic table: oxygen, sulfur, selenium, or tellurium.

• Gold(III) oxide, Au₂O₃. decomposes into gold and oxygen above 160 °C. dissolves in concentrated alkalis to form solutions which probably contain the [Au(OH)₄]⁻ ion
• Gold(I) sulfide, Au₂S. formed by passing hydrogen sulfide through solutions of gold(I) compounds
• Gold(III) sulfide, Au₂S₃. unstable in the presence of water
• Gold tellurides: Au₂Te₃, Au₃Te₅, and AuTe₂ (approximate formulæ) are known as non-stoichiometric compounds. they show metallic conductivity. Au₃Te₅ is a superconductor at very low temperatures.

Natural gold tellurides, like calaverite AuTe₂ and sylvanite AgAuTe₄, are minor ores of gold (and tellurium).

[edit] References

Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997), Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.), Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, ISBN 0-7506-3365-4 

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