Gold is a precious metal with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a malleable and ductile metal that can be drawn into wires. It is one of the few metals that can be produced as a pure element, however, it is often found in its compounds as well. Some of the most important are gold chloride, tetrachloroauric acid and gold sulfate formula.

Gold(III) chloride, sometimes also called auric chloride and chlorauric acid (HAuCl3) is a yellow-brown, highly hygroscopic salt which dissolves in water and ethanol. It decomposes at higher temperatures to give gold(I) chloride and gold bromide, and is unstable in air. It is a precursor to the widely used and environmentally friendly cyanide-free gold plating solution.

It is soluble in dilute sulfuric acid and other organic acids. It is also a precursor for the production of metallic gold through electrolytic refining. Gold(I) sulfate formula is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula AuSO4. It is an extremely stable form of gold and it is readily available from many commercial sources.

The structure of the gold(I) sulfate molecule is a distorted tetrahedron. Each mercury atom is surrounded by four oxygen atoms from the sulfate ion. The sulfate ion oxygen atoms are connected to the mercury atoms through SO groups in a zigzag pattern. It is also an extremely soluble compound in aqueous solution. In fact, it has been reported that it can be dissolved in water at ambient temperature in just 12 hours. The reaction time can be significantly reduced by mechanically flattening the gold pellets to reduce the surface area in contact with the aqueous solution.