How Is Gold III Chloride Synthesized?

Gold III chloride, also known as auric chloride, can be synthesized through the following steps:

1. Dissolve gold metal or gold powder in aqua regia (a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and concentrated nitric acid). The reaction produces soluble gold(III) chloride:

2 Au + 6 HCl + 2 HNO3 → 2 AuCl3 + 6 NO2 + 4 H2O

2. If necessary, the solution can be evaporated to concentrate the gold(III) chloride.

3. To obtain pure gold(III) chloride, the solution can be treated with hydrochloric acid gas to precipitate the gold as a yellow-orange crystalline solid. This is then washed with cold ethanol to remove impurities.

The chemical formula for gold III chloride is AuCl3.