Filling a gap in our systematic knowledge of gold, this monograph covers the fundamental aspects, while also considering new applications of gold compounds in catalysis, as nanoparticles, and their potential application as luminescent compounds. Written by an eminent team of authors from academia, the book analyzes the current status of gold chemistry, its special characteristics, oxidation states and main type of complexes, before going on to look at the synthesis of supramolecular aggregates due to the formation of gold-gold, gold-metal interactions or other secondary bonds. Final sections deal with LEDs, solvoluminescent and electroluminescent materials, liquid crystals and catalysis. While of interest to advanced chemistry students, this book is also useful for researchers interested in the chemistry of gold and its applications, as well as those involved in metal-metal interactions, heteronuclear chemistry or in the optical properties of coordination compounds.
About the Author
Antonio Laguna was born in 1948 in Huesca, Spain. He studied Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza (summa cum laude) and completed his PhD degree with Professor Rafael Uson in 1973, working in the field of organometallic chemistry of gold(III). He completed a postdoctoral stay at the University of Bristol in 1975 under the supervision of Professor F. G. A. Stone, working in palladium and platinum chemistry. Since 1976 he has been at the University of Zaragoza as "Profesor Titular" or Professor of Inorganic Chemistry. He is author of more than 340 scientific papers on the organometallic and coordination chemistry of silver and gold. He has been invited to give talks at different International Conferences or Universities in America, Asia and Europe.