Strong electronic consequences of intercalation in cuprate superconductors: the case of a trigonal planar AuI(3) complex stabilized in the Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(y) lattice

Recently, a molecular AuI(3) complex was stabilized in the interlayer space of the Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(y) (Bi2212) high-T(c) superconducting phase, adopting an exceptional D(3)(h) structure (Choy, J.-H.; et al. J. Phys.Chem. B 2000, 104, 7273). If the gold were formally Au(III), a strong Jahn-Teller distortion to T- and Y-shaped structures would be expected. In this work, we try to understand the structural preferences of AuI(3) in both the gas phase and the Bi2212 lattice, as well as the influence of the AuI(3) intercalation on the superconductor lattice. What we think actually happens is that there is an effective electron transfer from the s-type Bi lone pair to the gold, increasing the formal oxidation state of Bi from +3 to +5 and decreasing that of Au from +3 to +1. A trigonal Au(I) trihalide is just fine. The DFT results confirm in the Bi-rich regions the same kind of electron transfer as encountered on the EHT level of theory, but they reveal additional complexities of the problem. The effect of the Bi to intercalating molecule electron transfer on the cuprate layer may be important, quite apart from this specific example, in tuning superconductivity in the cuprates.