Expedient Syntheses of Neutral and Cationic Au(I)-NHC Complexes

The synthesis and isolation of gold(I) precatalysts often requires the generation of several isolable intermediates as well as numerous purification steps. New protocols for the expedient synthesis of neutral [Au(OH)(NHC)] and [Au(CH2COCH3)(NHC)] species from [AuCl(NHC)] or [AuCl(DMS)] precursors bearing a variety of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands are presented. These methods can be employed in a telescoping manner for the synthesis of catalytically relevant [Au(NTf2)(NHC)] and [Au(NHC)(NCCH3)]-[BF4] complexes. These attractive methods are straightforward and practical leading to various complexes in high isolated yields and purity.