A Non-Diazo Approach to α-Oxo Gold Carbenes via Gold-Catalyzed Alkyne Oxidation

For the past dozen years, homogeneous gold catalysis has evolved from a little known topic in organic synthesis to a fully blown research field of significant importance to synthetic practitioners, due to its novel reactivities and reaction modes. Cationic gold(I) complexes are powerful soft Lewis acids that can activate alkynes and allenes toward efficient attack by nucleophiles, leading to the generation of alkenyl gold intermediates. Some of the most versatile aspects of gold catalysis involve the generation of gold carbene intermediates, which occurs through the approach of an electrophile to the distal end of the alkenyl gold moiety, and their diverse transformations thereafter. On the other hand, α-oxo…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 0969157, CHE-1301343, 1301343, CAREER
• NI
  National Institute of General Medical Sciences

  Award: R01 GM084254
• DO
  Division of Chemistry

  Awards: CHE-1301343, CAREER