Nine-and ten-membered N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands have been developed and for the first time their gold(I)c omplexes weres ynthesized. The protonated NHC pro-ligands 2a-h were preparedb yt he reactiono f readily available N,N'-diarylformamidines with bis-electrophilic buildingb locks, followed by anion exchange. In situ deprotonation of the tetrafluoroborates 2a-h with tBuOK in the presence of AuCl(SMe 2 )p rovided fast access to NHCgold(I) complexes 3-10.T hese new NHC-gold(I) complexes show very good catalytic activity in ac ycloisomerization reaction( 0.1 mol %c atalystl oading, up to 100 %c onversion) and their solid-state structures revealh igh steric hindrance aroundt he metal atom (%V bur up to 53.0) which is caused by their expanded-ringarchitecture.
Results and DiscussionExpanded-ring NHC pro-ligands Various reactionc onditions have been previously reported for the synthesis of six-and seven-memberedp rotonated NHC salts, including the classic ring-closure of ad isubstituted alkyl or aryl amino moiety with ap re-carbenic unit (e.g. HC(OEt) 3 or formaldehyde). [15] Despite the good yields, those conditions are limitedw ith regard to the bulkiness of the N-substituted backbone.L argere ight-membered ring NHCs alts have been syn- [a] A.