EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, v.2014, no.3, pp.493 - 497
Abstract
A series of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) supported gold(I) complexes were synthesized, characterized in solution as well as in the solid state, and examined as precatalysts for 1,6-enyne cycloisomerization reactions. The product mixtures obtained for a variety of 1,6-enyne isomerizations were governed primarily by the electronic properties of the aforementioned precatalysts. In particular, precatalysts containing electronic-rich NHC ligands showed increased selectivity for bicyclic products, whereas analogous precatalysts supported by electron-deficient NHCs preferentially afforded olefinic products.