A general access to organogold(III) complexes by oxidative addition of diazonium salts

At room temperature under mild photochemical conditions, namely irradiation with a simple blue light LED, gold(I) chloro complexes of both phosphane and carbene ligands in combination with aryl-iazonium salts afford arylgold(III) complexes. With chelating P,N-ligands cationic six-or five-membered chelate complexes were isolated in the form of salts with weakly coordinating counter anions that were brought in from the diazonium salt. With monodentate P ligands or N-heterocyclic carbene ligands and diazonium chlorides neutral arylgold(III) dichloro complexes were obtained. The coordination geometry was determined by X-ray crystal structure analyses of representative compounds, a cis arrangement of the aryl and the phosphane ligand at the square planar gold(III) center is observed.