Mechanochemistry makes gold salts that are soluble in organic solvents
No need for aqua regia, chlorine or mercury in this gold processing method
A new one-pot mechanochemistry method for processing elemental gold can provide organosoluble gold salts in under one hour. By combining potassium peroxymonosulfate, a common pool cleaner, tetraalkylammonium halide salts and metallic gold in a solvent-free ball mill reaction, the technique avoids traditional harsh and toxic reagents used for gold oxidation.