Gold and Palladium Mediated Bimetallic Catalysis: Mechanistic Investigation through the Isolation of the Organogold(I) Intermediates

Au–Pd based catalytic systems are a unique couple due to the carbophilic Lewis acidity of Au and the redox properties of Pd. To gain more insight into this bimetallic couple, a synthetic and mechanistic investigation was conducted. As key substrates, ynamides (N-alkynyl allyloxycarbamates and N-alkynyl ethyloxycarbamates) were used. Essential for the mechanistic part was the isolation of the organogold­(I) intermediate to validate the proposed mechanism. In total, 18 polysubstituted oxazolones and 12 organogold­(I) complexes were synthesized.