In a hydrocarbon solution, the gold compound (CH3)3AuPH3 decomposes into ethane (C2H6) and a different gold compound, (CH3)AuPH3. The following mechanism has been proposed for the decomposition of (CH3)3AuPH3:
Step 1: (CH3)3AuPH3 k1 k -1 (CH3)3Au + PH3 (fast)
Step 2: (CH3)3Au k2 C2H6 + (CH3)Au (slow)
Step 3: (CH3)Au + PH3 ¡k3 1(CH3)AuPH3 (fast)
(e) What is the rate law predicted by this mechanism?