Novel Acyclic Diaminocarbene Ligands with Increased Steric Demand and Their Application in Gold Catalysis

Sterically demanding and conformationally stable N,N′-ditertiaryalkyl-N,N′-diphenyl acyclic diaminocarbenes (ADCs) were developed. Bulky ADC−Au catalysts not only showed competitive reactivities in hydroamination and enyne cyclization but also demonstrated unique ligand properties different from bulky N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) counterparts.