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Updated: Jan 27, 2026
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Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis
Published on: July 10, 2021
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Gold(ii) in redox-switchable gold(i) catalysis.
Philipp Veit1, Carla Volkert, Christoph Förster
1Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz, Germany. katja.heinze@uni-mainz.de.
Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)
|March 13, 2019
Summary
Gold(II) species catalyze cyclization reactions, forming 2-phenyl-5-vinylidene-2-oxazoline. This gold-catalyzed process is switchable, with activity controlled by redox changes between gold(II) and gold(I) states.
Area of Science:
- Organometallic Chemistry
- Catalysis
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Background:
- Gold catalysis offers unique reactivity for organic transformations.
- Understanding the role of gold oxidation states in catalysis is crucial.
- N-alkynyl amides are versatile substrates for cyclization reactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the catalytic activity of gold(II) species in the cyclization of N(2-propyn-1-yl)benzamide.
- To explore the influence of gold oxidation state on catalytic performance.
- To demonstrate redox-switchable catalysis using gold.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of gold complexes.
- Catalytic cyclization reactions using N(2-propyn-1-yl)benzamide.
- Spectroscopic and analytical characterization of intermediates and products.
Main Results:
- Gold(II) species effectively catalyzed the cyclization to 2-phenyl-5-vinylidene-2-oxazoline without halide abstraction.
- The saturated gold(I) complex showed no catalytic activity.
- Catalytic turnover was successfully switched on and off by redox manipulation between gold(II) and gold(I).
Conclusions:
- Gold(II) is an active catalytic species for this cyclization.
- The catalytic activity is dependent on the gold oxidation state.
- Redox-switchable catalysis provides a novel control mechanism in gold-catalyzed reactions.
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