Ylideneamine functionalised heterocyclic ligands, 1, 3-dimethyl-1, 3-dihydro-benzimidazol-2- ylideneamine (I), 3-methyl-3H-benzothiazol-2-ylideneamine (II) or 3, 4-dimethyl-3H-thiazol-2- ylideneamine (III), were employed in the preparation of a series of both charged and neutral gold (I) complexes consisting either of a Au (C6F5) fragment (1–3), a [Au (PPh3)]+ unit (4–6) or a [Au (NHC)]+ unit (7) coordinated to the imine nitrogen of the neutral ylideneamine ...