Gold extraction at the molecular level using α- and β-cyclodextrins

• Susana Santos Braga

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1116–1125, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.89

• spontaneous complex formation between α-CD and tetrabromoaurate and its current status of use in a few mining sites in the United States. Keywords: bromoaurate; cyanoaurate; cyclodextrin inclusion; self-assembly; supramolecular interactions; Introduction Gold has allured and captivated humankind ever since

• precious metals [42]. The process of gold precipitation with cyclodextrins, bromic acid and potassium hydroxide to form the potassium bromoaurate salt was patented, with patent coverage expanding to metals like silver, platinum, palladium, and rare earths, as well as the use of other cyclodextrins, β- and

• the gold-precipitating properties of a more affordable cyclodextrin, β-CD, is, on the other hand, still taking its first steps. In the case of the bromoaurate ion, the method implies the use of a precipitate co-former. There are, nonetheless, advantages to the use of additives, namely the possibility