Theory meets experiment: Gas-phase chemistry of coinage metals

The close interaction between experiment and theory is a key motif in contemporary transition-metal chemistry with mechanistic orientation. As an illustration of this aspect, we present selected examples from the gas-phase chemistry of the coinage metals (Cu, Ag, Au). The topics range from seemingly simple systems, such as hydrated metal ions, via the role of formal and real charge states in gaseous species to several case studies which demonstrate that modern mass spectrometry can contribute to the understanding of important processes in applied chemistry, such as CC bond formations using organocuprates, the epoxidation of ethylene on silver contacts, and the recent achievements in catalysis with gold compounds.