Synthesis of Gold(I)-Trifluoromethyl Complexes and their Role in Generating Spectroscopic Evidence for a Gold(I)-Difluorocarbene Species

Readily prepared and bench-stable [Au(CF3)(NHC)] compounds were synthesized by using new methods, starting from [Au(OH)(NHC)], [Au(Cl)(NHC)] or [Au(L)(NHC)]HF2 precursors (NHC=N-heterocyclic carbene). The mechanism of formation of these species was investigated. Consequently, a new and straightforward strategy for the mild and selective cleavage of a single carbon/fluorine bond from [Au(CF3)(NHC)] complexes was attempted and found to be reversible in the presence of an additional nucleophilic fluoride source. This straightforward technique has led to the unprecedented spectroscopic observation of a gold(I)-NHC difluorocarbene species.

Automated summary

Readily prepared and bench-stable [Au(CF3)(NHC)] compounds were synthesized using new methods, and the mechanism of their formation was investigated. A straightforward strategy for the selective cleavage of a single carbon/fluorine bond from [Au(CF3)(NHC)] complexes was attempted, leading to the unprecedented spectroscopic observation of a gold(I)-NHC difluorocarbene species.