Northwestern University

Dennis Cao

J Fraser Stoddart

Zhichang Liu

Marco Frasconi

Fraser Stoddart J

Methods for recovering gold from gold-bearing materials are provided. The methods rely upon on the self-assembly of KAuBrand &#x3b1;-cyclodextrin (&#x3b1;-CD) in aqueous solution to form a co-precipitate, a 1:2 complex, KAuBr&#x2022;(&#x3b1;-CD)('&#x3b1;&#x2022;Br'), either alone or in an extended {[K(OH)][AuBr]&#x2282;(&#x3b1;-CD)}chain superstructure (FIG.). The co-precipitation of &#x3b1;&#x2022;Br is selective for gold, even in the presence of other metals, including other square-planar noble metals. The method enables one to isolate gold from gold-bearing materials from diverse sources, as further described.

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Evanston, IL, United States of America

Dennis Cao