This review focuses on recent advancements in the efficacy of gold catalysts for the cycloisomerisation of ynamides, diynes, and 1,n-enynes to build complex molecules, with critical insight into their mechanism and reaction scope.
An efficient gold-catalysed intramolecular cycloisomerisation of BODIPYs provides seven-membered-ring-fused BODIPYs on the zig-zag edge. The fused π-extended BODIPYs exhibit unique photophysical properties including NIR absorption and emission.
The gold(I)-catalysed [3,4]-sigmatropic rearrangement of 2-alkynyl anilines having electron-withdrawing benzylic groups, yield o-tolylindoles in a non-common methylene to methyl transformation.
Hitherto unknown pyrimido[4,5-e]indolizine-2,4(1H,3H)-diones (indolizinouracils) were prepared and their photophysical properties studied.
Coordination of metalloligands Cu+, Ag+ and Zn2+ controls the Lewis acidity of heterobimetallic AuI catalysts thus promoting alkyne hydrofunctionalisation.