The Difluoromethylated Organogold(III) Complex cis-[Au(PCy3)(4-F-C6H4)(CF2H)(CI)]: Preparation, Characterization, and Its C(sp(2))-CF2H Reductive Elimination

The preparation of the difluoromethylated organogold(III) complex cis-[Au(PCy3)(4-F-C6H4)(CF2H)(Cl)] (3) and its Ar-CF2H reductive elimination are described. In the presence of 1.0 equiv of AgSbF6 or AgPF6, compound 3 underwent a quantitative Ar-CF2H reductive elimination in less than 1.0 min at 25 degrees C, while the lack of silver salt resulted in Ar-CF2H reductive elimination from complex 3 in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (CCl2HCCl2H) after 80 min at 115 degrees C to afford the elimination product p-F-PhCF2H (4) and (Cy3P)Au(Cl) in quantitative yields. On the basis of the mechanistic studies of the kinetics of the reaction and DFT calculation, a concerted Ar-CF2H bond-forming pathway for the Ar-CF2H reductive elimination from organogold(III) complex 3 is proposed.