Recent Developments in Enantioselective Gold(I) Catalysis

Abstract

The use of gold(I) complexes as catalysts for organic transformations has become increasingly common over the past decade, leading to the development of a number of useful carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bond‐forming processes. In contrast, enantioselective catalysis employing gold(I) complexes was, until recently, exceedingly rare, due in large part to the pronounced tendency of gold(I) to form linear, two‐coordinate complexes. However, new approaches and strategies have emerged over the past two years, leading to the development of a number of effective gold(I)‐catalyzed enantioselective transformations, most notably the enantioselective hydrofunctionalization of allenes. Outlined herein is an overview of enantioselective gold(I) catalysis since 2005.