The role of gold in transition metal carbonyl clusters.

In this review, the authors describe the role of gold in the chemistry of transition metal carbonyl clusters, a field that has been very active over the past fifty years. Both homo- and heteroleptic Au-containing species of metal carbonyl clusters, fully characterized by X-ray analysis, are discussed across three categories: those which are surface decorated by Au(I) fragments, cluster units connected by naked Au(I) atoms, and Au core–shell species with metallic gold structures embedded in the cluster frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]