A "gold standard" computational proof for the existence of gold(III) aurophilicity.

The existence of aurophilic gold(III)⋯gold(III) interactions has for a long time been neglected due to structural arguments and comparison with the aurophilicity of gold(I) compounds. We show with calculations at the CCSD(T) level of theory that the [Au III (CH 3 ) 3 (NH 3 )] 2 dimer has a metallophilic dispersion interaction between the gold(III) atoms of 10.5 kJ mol -1 . The aurophilic interaction is illustrated by topological QTAIM calculations and IRI analysis.