Chirality transfer in gold-catalyzed carbothiolation of o-alkynylphenyl 1-arylethyl sulfides

Chirality transfer in gold-catalyzed carbothiolation of o-alkynylphenyl 1-arylethyl sulfides 1 proceeded with retention of the configuration at the 1-arylethyl group. This result suggests that the [1,3] migration of 1-arylethyl group proceeds through formation of the contact ion pair B followed by C-C bond formation.