The nature of the chemical bond between gold and the noble gases in the simplest prototype of Au(I) complexes (NgAuF and NgAu+, where Ng = Ar, Kr, Xe), has been theoretically investigated by state of art all-electron fully relativistic DC-CCSD(T) and DFT calculations with extended basis sets. The main properties of the molecules, including dipole moments and polarizabilities, have been computed and a detailed study of the electron density changes upon formation of the Ng-Au bond has been made. The Ar-Au dissociation energy is found to be nearly the same in both Argon compounds. It almost doubles along the NgAuF series and nearly triples in the corresponding NgAu+ series. The formation of the Ng-Au(I) bonds is accompanied by a large and very complex charge redistribution pattern which not only affects the outer valence region but reaches deep into the core-electron region. The charge transfer from the noble gas to Au taking place in the NgAu+ systems is largely reduced in the fluorides but the Ng-Au chemical bond in the latter systems is found to be tighter near the equilibrium distance. The density difference analysis shows, for all three noble gases, a qualitatively identical nature of the Ng-Au bond, characterized by the pronounced charge accumulation in the middle of the Ng-Au internuclear region which is typical of a covalent bond. This bonding density accumulation is more pronounced in the fluorides, where the Au-F bond is found to become more ionic, while the overall density deformation is more evident and less localized in the NgAu+ systems. Accurate density difference maps and charge-transfer curves help explain very subtle features of the chemistry of Au(I), including its peculiar preference for tight linear bicordination.

We definitively show that the CO stretching response to metal coordination is driven exclusively by π polarization, which quantitatively correlates with π back-donation and changes in CO bond length and frequency.