Deposition of gold from alkaline fluoride-free solutions containing Au(I) ions onto silicon surfaces has been demonstrated. This deposition takes place at room temperature and does not require the presence of a reducing agent in the solution. The results clearly show that Au(I) ions can be reduced to Au(0) by silicon and, as a consequence, gold metal can be deposited at the surface of the substrate. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.