Explosive Chrysopoeia

TL;DR

This paper investigates the nature of the purple smoke from fulminating gold, revealing it contains gold nanoparticles, which explains its distinctive color and provides insights into its explosive properties.

Contribution

The study identifies gold nanoparticles as the cause of the purple smoke in fulminating gold, offering a new understanding of its composition and explosive behavior.

Findings

Purple smoke contains gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles cause the purple coloration

Provides insight into explosive mechanism

Abstract

Fulminating gold, the first high-explosive compound to be discovered, disintegrates in a mysterious cloud of purple smoke, the nature of which has been speculated upon since its discovery in 1585. In this work, we show that the colour of the smoke is due to the presence of gold nanoparticles.