Ligand-unsupported Au(I) chains with short Au(I)...Au(I) contacts.

A new series of solids with ligand-unsupported Au(I) chains with short Au center dot center dot center dot Au contacts were synthesized; as Ag compounds with the same structure are known, the new phases now allow unbiased comparison of Ag center dot center dot center dot Ag and Au center dot center dot center dot Au metallophilic bonds not supported by bridging ligands, which shows the latter to be consistently shorter by 0.03-0.04 angstrom.