The increasing worldwide oil pollution intensifies the needs for new techniques of separation of oil from oily water.

An inexpensive Ni-based catalyst, in combination with a readily recyclable 8aminoquinoline directing group, promotes efficient and regioselective addition of two different organohalides across alkenyl carbonyl compounds under mild reductive conditions. The method has broad functional group tolerance and is applicable to aryl-alkylation, alkenyl-alkylation, and dialkylation transformations. Utility of the strategy is highlighted through concise synthesis of bioactive molecules that are difficult to access by alternative procedures. Kinetic studies revealed insights into the mechanism of the multicomponent reaction.

A great combination: A putative indolyl‐substituted vinyl gold species generated in situ from AuCl/AgOTf catalyzed the title transformation. Under these reaction conditions, indenyl‐fused and 2,3‐disubstituted indole derivatives were produced in good to excellent yields of up to 94 % (see scheme).

A synthetic method that relies on gold(I)-catalyzed tandem 1,3-migration/[2 + 2] cycloaddition of 1,7-enyne benzoates to prepare azabicyclo[4.2.0]oct-5-enes is described.

A synthetic method to prepare 2,4a-dihydro-1H-fluorenes efficiently from gold(I)-catalyzed 1,2-acyloxy migration/cyclopropenation/Nazarov cyclization of 1,6-diyne carbonates and esters is described. The suggested reaction pathway provides rare examples of [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement in this class of compounds as well as the involvement of an in situ formed cyclopropene intermediate in gold catalysis. Experimental and ONIOM(QM:QM') [our own n-layered integrated molecular orbital and molecular mechanics(quantum mechanics:quantum mechanics')] computational studies based on the proposed Au carbenoid species provide insight into this unique selectivity.

Friedel-Crafts allylic alkylation of a wide variety of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds with allylic alcohols catalysed by AuCl(3) (5 mol%) under mild conditions at room temperature was accomplished in good to excellent yields (up to 99%) and regioselectivity.

A synthetic method that relies on Au(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions of 1,7-diyne benzoates to prepare indeno[1,2-c]azepines and azabicyclo[4.2.0]octa-1(8),5-dines is described.

An efficient synthetic route to pyrrolidines that relies on AuCl/AgOTf-catalyzed tandem amination/ring expansion of substituted cyclopropyl methanols with sulfonamides is reported herein. The reactions proceed rapidly at 100 degrees C with catalyst loadings as low as 2 mol % and produce the pyrrolidine products in yields of 30-95 %. The method was shown to be applicable to a broad range of cyclopropyl methanols, including unactivated ones, and sulfonamide substrates containing electron-withdrawing, electron-donating, and sterically-demanding substituents. The mechanism is suggested to involve activation of the alcohol substrate by the AuCl/AgOTf catalyst, followed by ionization of the starting material, which causes ring opening of the cyclopropane moiety and trapping by the sulfonamide nucleophile. The resultant aminated acyclic intermediate undergoes subsequent intramolecular hydroamination to give the pyrrolidine.