Activation of Aryl Halides at Gold(I): Practical Synthesis of (P,C) Cyclometalated Gold(III) Complexes

Taking advantage of phosphine chelation, direct evidence for oxidative addition of C-sp(2)-X bonds (X = I, Br) to a single gold atom is reported. NMR studies and DFT calculations provide insight into this unprecedented transformation, which gives straightforward access to stable (P,C) cyclometalated gold(III) complexes.