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Gold(III) alkyne complexes: Bonding and reaction pathways

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    Abstract

    The synthesis and characterization of hitherto hypothetical AuIII π-alkyne complexes is reported. Bonding and stability depend strongly on the trans effect and steric factors. Bonding characteristics shed light on the reasons for the very different stabilities between the classical alkyne complexes of PtII and their drastically more reactive AuIII congeners. Lack of back-bonding facilitates alkyne slippage, which is energetically less costly for gold than for platinum and explains the propensity of gold to facilitate C−C bond formation. Cycloaddition followed by aryl migration and reductive deprotonation is presented as a new reaction sequence in gold chemistry.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)13861–13865
    Number of pages5
    JournalAngewandte Chemie-International Edition
    Volume56
    Issue number44
    Early online date2 Oct 2017
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 23 Oct 2017

    Keywords

    • alkynes
    • density functional calculations
    • gold
    • homogeneous catalysis
    • reaction mechanisms

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